


Better Late Than...

by Adorable Blondes (Chloe), bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: The Luthor Series [2]
Category: Chlollie - Fandom, Smallville
Genre: Chlollie, F/M, adorable blondes, better late than, the Luthor series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-08-25
Updated: 2010-09-08
Packaged: 2017-11-23 17:20:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 47,879
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/624646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chloe/pseuds/Adorable%20Blondes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is the sequel to <a href="http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html">A Fine Line.</a></p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

Chloe blinked a couple of times, her eyes opening wide and all she saw was... white. Frowning, she lifted her hands to touch her face and found that there was some kind of sheet over her. On top of that, she was naked, laying down on a cold surface and all she could think of was that she was in Lex's dungeon.

She sat up quickly, pushing the sheets down and looking around, her heart beating faster when she realized where she was. A morgue. There were three bodies around her but no one else in sight. Her heart was about to burst now and she jumped off of the table she had been laying on, wrapping the sheet around herself and looking around for a moment. She had to get out of there before someone found her.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she found a lab coat and wrapped it around herself, ditching the sheets and taking a deep breath before making her way out of the room. She would figure the rest out later, right now, she had to run.

 

* * *

Clark sat silently on the porch, staring off into the distance. It had been a full day, and it still hadn't fully sunk in yet.

Chloe was dead, likely from healing Oliver.

Lex was dead, and Oliver had been the one to kill him.

His jaw tightened a little. He wanted answers. And to make things even worse, he'd been the one who had to call Lois, who'd been off with the General trying to find her illusive sister Lucy somewhere in Europe. He had no idea where Mr. Sullivan was these days, and Lois was Chloe's closest next of kin. They wouldn't release her body until someone signed for her. He hadn't been able to tell Lois on the phone _why_ she had to come back to Kansas ASAP, but regardless of what most people thought of her, Lois was a reasonably intelligent woman.

She knew _something_ was wrong.

And he could hear her car rattling on Smallville's main road as she drove toward the farm.

This wasn't going to be easy.

* * *

Lois's hands clutched the steering wheel tightly as she raced toward the Kent's property. All Clark had told her was that she had to come back as soon as she could because something had happened, and no matter how many times she'd demanded, he wouldn't tell her _what_.

All she could think was that if Clark was calling her, it was because _Chloe_ couldn't.

And at that realization, she'd been on the first plane from Finland despite protests from the General, and headed straight back to Smallville, Kansas.

Now she just wanted a cigarette. Her stomach was tight with nerves, her heart beating quickly in her chest. As if to make it all worse, she'd been trying to call Chloe's cell phone for the last 24-hours to no avail.

Chloe had managed to run away from the hospital and she was far enough down the road that she figured she should be safe. But she had been running for a while and her lungs and legs were burning already. She had to make it to the mansion and she had to check on her mom, but she would never make it that far on foot. She stopped for a moment and took a deep breath, it was in the middle of the night, there weren't a lot of cars around. So when she saw the headlights coming in her direction, she didn't think twice before stepping out on the road and waving her arms, "STOP!"

Lois had just reached down to turn on the radio and when she glanced up again, she saw someone standing in the middle of the road. She screamed, slamming hard on the brakes and just managing to miss the person by a foot or so. Her hands holding onto the wheel deathly-tight now, she blinked a couple of times and stared when she realized she was staring at her cousin. "Chloe," she whispered, eyebrows furrowing. She quickly shifted the car into 'park' and scrambled out of it. "Chloe, what the hell? I almost _hit_ you. What--" She rounded the car to see the blond dressed in what appeared to be a lab coat. And _only_ a lab coat. There were no shoes on her feet, which were cut up and bleeding. "Oh God. What happened?"

Chloe was just as shocked to see her cousin, she knew Lois was supposed to be out of the country for a few months, but she was relieved it was Lois and not some creepy old guy. She was tired of that, "I'm not sure," Chloe admitted, "I woke up in the hospital, I broke out and I--" she shook her head, not even noticing her feet, "why are you here?"

"Wait, hospital. Broke out? What?" She shook her head, too, her dark hair escaping the clip she'd pinned it up with haphazardly before renting a car in Metropolis and taking off toward Smallville.

"I need you to take me to the Luthor Mansion, I'll explain on the way," Chloe said breathlessly. She remembered what had happened now, parts of it anyway. The wedding, the video, Oliver, Lex being shot in the head but not until after he had shot Oliver in the stomach. And that was when things got fuzzy. She thought she remembered Oliver carrying her out of the mansion and being okay, but she didn't know if it was real or not. It felt distant, like a dream.

Worry clouding her features, Lois frowned. "All right," she said warily, trusting that Chloe would really fill her in on just why she was asking to be driven to what Lois had long ago inwardly dubbed 'The Snake Pit.'

On the way to the mansion, Chloe explained what she could. How Lex had found her mom, how he had been holding her at the mansion and blackmailing her to stay there and do as he said, how Oliver found out and came after her to help her, and then she paused, "you haven't heard anything about Lex or Oliver on the news, have you?" She asked worriedly, she didn't know how much time she had been at the hospital for, how long she had been 'dead' for.

"No, nothing." Her jaw tightened slightly. "But everyone will be hearing about Lex on the news soon because I'm going to _kill_ him." There wasn't a hint of kidding in her voice.

"Lois," Chloe warned her, shaking her head, her eyes a little wide, "there won't be anything on the news about any of this because I think Oliver killed Lex."

Lois whipped her head over to look at her cousin, jaw dropped, and nearly ran right off the road. " _What_?"

"Watch out!" Chloe warned her, reaching for the wheel and straightening the car back on the road and taking a deep breath before pulling back, "I don't know exactly what happened, I was drugged and exhausted, but... Oliver showed up and he was angry and... he shot Lex, in the head. And I don't remember if Lex hurt Oliver or not. Give me your cellphone," Chloe told her cousin, holding out her hand for a second, before reaching down for Lois' purse that was on the floor. She had to make sure Oliver was okay.

Blinking several times in rapid succession, Lois forced herself to pay attention to the road. "In my purse, back pocket." She swallowed hard.

Chloe stared at the phone for a long moment, trying to remember his numbers and then trying all of them, her jaw tightening as every single one of them had been disconnected, even the phone he used exclusively for the team, "disconnected, which means, he's probably running and what I remember is right." She looked over at her cousin, her eyes wide.

"You think Oliver's on the run from the police?" Her eyes widened a little more, and she glanced at her sideways. "And if you broke out of the hospital, why are you wearing a lab coat?" Her mind was racing a mile a minute.

Pausing for a full moment, Chloe considered her answer to her cousin, she looked away and shook her head, "I was in the morgue, I think..." she paused, "I think they thought I was dead."

 

Lois felt her stomach tighten at the word 'morgue' in reference to her cousin. She stepped on the brake and turned to face Chloe, her face pale. "Why would they think you were dead?" Oh, God. That was why Clark had called her home from Europe. Because he'd thought Chloe was _dead_. She covered her mouth with one hand.

Chloe sighed deeply, looking at her cousin for a long moment, "I'm a meteor freak, Lo. I can heal myself," she said quietly then shook her head, "but when it's bad, I guess I only heal when I sleep and, I must have been hurt badly enough to make me look dead," she shook her head, taking a deep breath, "it's the only thing I can think of... the only thing that makes sense, but I'm not sure of anything right now."

She fell silent, staring at her cousin for a moment, then reaching over and pulling her into a hug. "We'll figure it out," she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't here."

"I'm sorry I lied," Chloe whispered, holding on to her cousin tightly, "but I'm so glad you weren't here, I wouldn't want Lex to hurt you to get to me."

Lois hugged her tighter. "You don't have _anything_ to apologize for. God, Chloe."

Chloe took a deep breath and pulled back after a moment, "we need to get to the mansion, Lo, my mom." She said quietly, looking up at her cousin.

"Right. Right, okay." She drew in a deep breath, as well, tucking some hair behind Chloe's ear before settling herself forward and shifting the car into drive again. She drove quickly toward the Luthor mansion, and parked the car as close to the front as she could get it.

Chloe stilled when she saw some of the lights of the mansion were on and saw some of the employee cars parked down the road. "What day is today?" Everything had gone down on Sunday and the staff was supposed to be gone.

Lois shut the engine off, thinking for a moment. "Thursday morning? I think? I'm still running on European time."

"Thursday," she stilled, "I've been gone for four days."

Again, her stomach twisted and she silently thanked God she hadn't known about Chloe's _death_ until she'd returned again. She felt horrible for it, because it meant she hadn't been there when her cousin had needed her the most. But she wasn't sure she could go through the pain of losing Chloe again--ever. She reached out and put a hand on her arm. "You're here now." Lois was glad her voice was calm and steady despite the way she was feeling.

Chloe's face fell a little and she realized how much this was scaring her cousin, "I'm okay, Lo," she promised, covering her hand with her free one, "I can't even get hurt and stay that way for long anymore," she said quietly, smiling reassuringly, "you're not getting rid of me that easily."

"You're right about that. Besides, now that I'm back, I'm gluing you to my side." She tried to smile back, but didn't quite manage it. "Come on. Let's go find out what's going on."

She leaned over and kissed Lois' temple before pulling back, trying for a smile too and being about as successful as Lois had been before getting out of the car. She was anxious to see her mom, make sure she was okay and to find out what the staff knew. She just hoped Joseph was working that night. Taking Lois' hand in hers and holding on to the lab coat with her other hand, she pulled her over the front steps, glancing down at her feet, her eyes widening when she realized that, although they were dirty and bloody, the cuts had already healed, she paused and showed her foot to Lois, "see?"

Lois looked down, startled, and then looked at her once more. "You're like _Jesus_ , Chloe!"

Chloe paused at that and shook her head, "hardly," she said quietly before walking up to the door and trying it, breathing out when it slid open, "c'mon," she said, tugging on Lois' hand and pulling her to the stairs, not stopping until they reached the second floor, walked past several doors and opening one of them, sighing in relief when she saw her mom laying on the bed.

 

Lois paused in the doorway. It had been years since she'd last seen Moira Sullivan. It had been the Christmas before her seventh birthday. Seeing her lying there silent and still, eyes wide open and now just several feet away from her was more than a little surreal. All of this felt surreal. "Now what?" she whispered uncertainly, glancing over her shoulder.

Letting go of Lois' hand, Chloe stepped closer and brushed a hand over her mom's hair before leaning down and kissing her forehead. She wasn't hurt, she was breathing. Lois was there, everything should be okay.

Chloe pulled back and turned to look at her cousin, "now we get some answers," she told her, starting out of the room but not running this time.

Nodding, Lois followed her down the hall. "Wait," she whispered, catching her arm.

She paused, looking over at Lois, her eyes a little wide and she whispered too, "what?"

"We need to find you some clothes. You can't just walk around in nothing but a lab coat."

"That's where we're going," she told Lois quietly, "everything happened in here, Lo. In the bedroom."

Lois paused. "Why don't I go in and pick something out for you? You can stay out here."

"No," she squeezed her hand and started moving again, "I want to see if what I remember makes sense," she told her, dragging her cousin to the top floor and down the hallway, stopping when she saw the yellow police tape surrounding the bedroom area.

 

She drew in a breath, glanced down the hallway both ways, then ducked under the police tape, holding it up for Chloe so she could do the same. She stepped inside the room and flipped on the light, glancing around. Her gaze came to rest on the bed. The mattress had been stripped of all the bedding, but there were blood stains all over it. She stared at it, her heart hammering in her chest. "Chloe?"

Chloe was right behind her and knew exactly what her cousin was staring at. She shook her head a little, "Lo, don't..." she warned her quietly, "don't think about it."

 

"Is that _your_ blood?" She couldn't help the words that came out of her mouth.

Sighing softly, she nodded, tugging on Lois' hand and pulling her to the closet, "yes."

"And you're sure Lex is dead?" she whispered, holding onto her cousin's hand tightly.

"If he was alive, my mom wouldn't be," she told Lois, finally letting go of her hand and starting to change, "not after what Oliver and I did," she whispered, mostly to herself.

Lois took the lab coat from her and turned to keep an eye on the door while Chloe changed clothes. Her gaze flickered back to the matress involuntarily. There was a lot of blood there. She wondered why the police hadn't taken it as evidence, too. Although knowing the Smallville PD, they probably didn't have space to store a king-sized mattress.

Once she was done changing, Chloe walked past her cousin, "try not to touch anything, I don't know if they are still collecting fingerprints," she told her, wiping her hands over the light switch Lois had touched then going to pick up her purse, she had to try and contact one of them, so she pulled out her phone and called AC's, holding her breath.

"Who are you calling?" she whispered.

"Arthur Curry, he might know where Oliver is," Chloe told her, looking around the room for a moment, everything else seemed to be in place and the corridor wasn't blocked off, which meant someone had gotten in there before the police. If that was the case, why would Oliver be running?

 

Lois blinked at that. "Arthur Curry? As in AC?" Her eyebrows furrowed. "He knows Oliver? How?"

"Hello?" AC's voice was tired as he picked up the phone and pressed it to his ear.

Chloe nodded at Lois and opened her mouth to answer when AC picked up, "Arthur!" She said, relieved, "Arthur, it's Chloe, I'm so glad you picked up I've been trying to find Oliver but his phones are disconnected..."

 

"What?" He pulled the phone from his ear and stared at it for a moment. "Look, that's not even funny." His voice was harsh, a rarity for AC. But he wasn't used to having people call him claiming to be a dead friend, either.

She winced at his tone and realized how she must have sounded, "No, Arthur, it really is me," she said quietly, as calmly as she could, "I know what you're thinking, I woke up in the morgue, but I'm okay, I guess... it just took me a while to heal myself."

 

He sat up straight in his chair. "If it's really you, how did we first meet?" He held his breath.

Chloe paused for a moment, "at the lake," she told him, "my cousin nearly drowned and you saved her." She hoped that would be enough.

All the air left his lungs in a rush. "God. Where are you, Chloe?"

She sighed in relief, "I'm at the mansion, my mom is here, I can't leave her. Where is Oliver? Is he okay?"

AC paused. "I'm on my way. We'll talk when I get there, okay?"

Her jaw tightened for a second, "he's alive, right?" She had to know.

"As far as I know," he said quietly.

"And Bart and Victor," she whispered, her shoulders hunching a little as she looked at the floor.

"They're fine. They're here with me right now. We'll uh--we'll be there soon, all right?"

"Okay, I'll see you soon." Chloe said quietly before hanging up the phone and turning to her cousin, "we should step out of this room, the boys are coming."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "The boys? Meaning this Bart guy and Victor guy? And AC? And how do they all know Oliver? How are they involved in all this? Chloe, what is going on?"

Chloe ducked under the the police line and pulled Lois with her, switching the light off on their way out, "they work with Oliver..." this was going to be another long story.

"At Queen Industries?" She raised an eyebrow. "Since when does AC live in Kansas?"

She paused for a moment and looked at her cousin, "I can't tell you exactly what they do, because it's not my secret to tell," she told Lois quietly, then started walking again, this time, towards the staff area, "but they were helping Oliver try to figure out a way to get me out of this mess."

Lois paused on the 'not my secret to tell' part. She followed Chloe down the hall. "All right."

Chloe didn't stop until they reached the bottom floor, she looked around the staff area for a second, no one was in there so she pulled out of the room and walked into the next one, the camera-less room Joseph had told her about, "they should be here soon."

 

She drew in a breath and let it out slowly, sitting down in one of the chairs and looking around uncertainly. The room was quiet, dark. She couldn't help but wonder if Lex had hurt Chloe in this room, too.

Chloe checked her phone once more before sliding it back on her pocket and turning to look at Lois, a little surprised to see that lost look on her face. With a deep breath, she stepped closer, "are you okay?"

 

Lois glanced up at her, then rose to her feet. "I want to know everything," she said quietly. "Not right now, but soon."

Pausing for a long moment, Chloe watched her cousin then sighed, nodding, "I'll tell you," she promised, "but you will need time to process what you already do know and I'll tell you little by little so it doesn't overwhelm you," she said quietly, "but I want you to know that no matter what happened, I'm okay now and we're all safe, thanks to Oliver."

"Which begs the question. Where is Oliver?" Her voice grew even more quiet.

"AC wouldn't tell me," Chloe told her, shaking her head, "he said that, as far as he knows, he's alive."

Lois was quiet for a moment. "There's something I'm not sure I understand," she said softly.

"What is it?" She asked just as softly.

 

She gazed at her intently. "You said Oliver's been helping you. But you haven't said anything about Clark."

Chloe paused a little and shook her head, "I... haven't heard from Clark in almost four months."

 

Lois stared at her. "What?"

"When Lex made me move in here," she chose her words carefully, "Clark heard and showed up, I lied to him, told him I didn't want to hear from him anymore, that I was helping Lex now and... I guess he believed me."

"Yeah, well he's an _idiot_!" Her jaw tightened.

Chloe's eyes widened a little at her reaction and she raised both hands to her cousin's upper arms, squeezing them gently, "Lo, it's okay, there was nothing he could have done and honestly, it was probably better that he stayed away." She couldn't have handled Clark's judgmental looks and questions, and she didn't want to watch Lex hurt him if he did try to help her.

 

"It's _not_ okay, Chloe. He should have known better. He's supposed to be your best friend." She shook her head.

She took a deep breath and nodded a little, "I know," she watched Lois for a second then shook her head, "but Clark would never have been able to do what Oliver did, and would probably have gotten himself hurt in the process of trying to break me out, this was better."

Lois shut her eyes for a moment. She'd deal with Clark later. Drawing in a breath, she wrapped her arms around Chloe tightly.

At that moment, AC peeked his head inside the room. "Chloe?"

Chloe had time to hug her cousin back for a second before she heard AC's voice, she pulled back but took her cousin's hand in hers as she turned to face him, "hey," she said softly, by the time it had taken them to get there, she assumed he had filled the others in, "it's me, I promise."

He stepped into the room with Victor and Bart behind him. His gaze shifted from Chloe to Lois and back again. "Wow. This is..." He shook his head a little. "Are you all right?"

Victor smiled at her. "You are a sight for sore eyes."

Bart's eyes were wide as he stepped into the room too, all he did was stare at Chloe, but didn't say anything before walking over to her and wrapping his arms around her.

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little and hugged Bart back, looking between AC and Victor over his shoulder, "I'm sorry I scared you guys," she said sincerely, turning to AC, "I'm okay, not a scratch on me."

 

AC nodded a little. "Thank God. The doctor said..." He winced a little and shook his head. "Doesn't matter." He hesitated a moment, then he hugged her too, his gaze locking on Lois.

With a soft smile, she returned AC's hug too as Bart stepped aside, "it does matter, but not right now," she told him as he pulled away, "where is Oliver?"

AC let her go and let out a breath. "I don't know," he admitted quietly, looking down for a moment.

"He took off the day that..." Victor's voice trailed off. "He withdrew $100,000 in cash from his account, shut off all his phones, canceled all his credit cards. We've been trying to track him down, but..."

"He doesn't want to be found," AC finished quietly.

Bart was silent for a moment longer, "I think he kinda lost it when he saw that video," her said quietly, staring at the floor. Not that he blamed Oliver.

Chloe's jaw tightened a little and she glanced at her cousin before looking at the boys, "but he was healed? And okay when you guys saw him?" She asked carefully, looking between them.

 

"He was healed," Victor said with a slight nod.

"But he wasn't okay." It wasn't hard to read between those lines. Lois stared at him intently.

"We'll find him." Chloe said, walking over to the door and closing it firmly, there should only be one or two staff members at the mansion this time of the night and they should be asleep anyway, but still, better be safe. With a deep breath, she resumed her position next to her cousin, "and Lex, is he really..."

"Dead?" Bart said firmly, looking at her and tightening his jaw, "buried the bastard myself, even went to check on his grave a couple of times to make sure he was still there."

Lois shifted her gaze from Vic to Bart, caught off guard by his words. "So Ollie's not...on the run from the police?"

Bart looked from Chloe to Lois and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, "why would he be? As far as the police knows, Lex is the only one who killed someone and is on the run," he stilled, eyes widening a little as he looked at Chloe, not sure if he had said too much.

Chloe smiled slightly at him and nodded, "it's okay, Bart, she knows about me and what happened in here."

With a sigh, a little relieved, he continued, "I cleaned everything up before the cops got here, got rid of Lex, and Ollie was okay so... all the police knows is what Ollie and I told them, that Lex sent Ollie that DVD and then we came looking for you and Lex was gone and you were hurt, in bed. And then we gave them the DVD."

"DVD?" Lois echoed, turning to look at her cousin with a hint of dread. "What DVD?"

Victor grimaced a little and looked between Bart and Chloe.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at her cousin, "Lex had a thing for being caught on camera," she held her gaze for a second then sighed deeply. She was a little more relieved now that she knew for sure that Lex was dead, but now she was worried about Oliver. She had to find him, especially if he had left because he felt guilty about what happened to her.

 

Lois's jaw tightened a little. "He better be glad he's dead."

AC grimaced. Somehow he had a feeling she really meant that.

Chloe reached over and squeezed Lois' hand again before turning to the boys, "I will start looking for Oliver, but first," she turned to Bart, "could you do me a favor and try to find where the security system is in the mansion?" She then turned to Vic, "and I was hoping maybe you could shut all the video and audio surveillance down, or at least make sure only we have access to the feed?"

Bart raised an eyebrow a little but nodded, "yeah, no problem," he told her before disappearing and Chloe squeezed Lois' hand again. Yet another thing she would have to explain.

"Whoa." Lois's eyes widened in shock. "How did...what just happened?"

Victor couldn't help but grin a little. "I'll get on that, Chloe," he assured her, heading out of the room, as well.

"Thank you, Vic," she called then turned to Lois, "I'm not the only one with an ability, Bart's doesn't come from meteor rocks, but... he can run at the speed of light," it was the easiest way to explain that she could come up with, and since Bart hadn't given her much of a choice in the matter, she glanced at AC and shrugged a little.

AC was quiet for a moment, gazing at Lois. "And I can swim at the speed of light," he said quietly.

Lois blinked. "No wonder you're the lead swimmer for Miami U's varsity swim team."

He grinned a little, ducking his head.

Chloe smiled softly between the two of them then squeezed her cousin's hand, between her and the boys, Chloe figured she had enough help to try and find Oliver, she just hoped he was in one piece when they did.


	2. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

 

The crowd was in an uproar.

 

It wasn't every day they got to see a two hundred fifty pound man beat the living hell out of a celebrity like Oliver Queen.

And the fact that said celebrity had had to pay nearly ten grand to do it? Only made it that much better for them.

He barely felt the hard punch to his ribs this time. The first time had been brutal--the man had on brass knuckles. He was pretty sure with a single hit, that first one, the guy had cracked at least one rib, if not two.

He wondered if this was what _she_ had felt.

Letting go of the cage, he spit a mouthful of blood on the dirt floor and turned to face the other man, just managing to block a punch to his jaw, but not missing the well placed knee to his gut that sent him to the ground.

He shut his eyes, and when the elbow came down to his chest, he gasped in pain but made no effort to move.

The crowd got even louder.

But it wasn't enough to block out the sound of her screams that echoed endlessly in his mind.

* * *

Chloe sighed deeply and stared at the computer screen. The sun had risen at some point, but she wasn't paying attention, Lois had fallen asleep on the couch of the study and the boys were doing what they had already been doing, which was physically searching every corner of Metropolis and surrounding areas.

Before she started to research Oliver, she had looked at the news of the last few days and there hadn't been a single word about what had happened at the mansion. She planned to change that, if nothing else, it would alert Oliver to the fact that she was okay, but she needed a perfect plan for that, needed to cover up all the basics so it didn't seem too suspicious, she didn't want the police to second guess what she was saying, although she was pretty sure that that DVD was prove enough of what kind of man Lex Luthor was. And she planned on exposing his dungeon too. She didn't _really_ have to worry about him coming after her after all. Not anymore.

Lois stirred on the sofa, blinking a few times agains the faint light streaming through the windows. She sat up slowly, rubbing her face and turned to see her cousin at Lex's desk behind the computer. "How long was I out?"

Chloe smiled a little and shook her head, "not long, go back to sleep, Lo, do you wanna lay down in one of the bedrooms?"

"No," she said immediately, rising to her feet. "Any luck?"

She shook her head and sighed a little, "not yet, and the boys are still gone."

"Chloe?" Eyes wide, Joseph stood in the open doorway of the study.

Chloe blinked and looked up, standing instantly, "Joseph, I was hoping you'd come in today."

"Are you all right?" He entered the study, quickly moving over to her side.

Lois raised an eyebrow, but remained silent for the time being.

"It's okay," she told Lois with a soft smile then looked back at Joseph, nodding, "I'm okay, what are the rumors going around here?"

He was quiet for a moment. "We thought that...well, I don't know what anyone else thought really. I assumed you were...gone."

"I was healing," she told him quietly then stepped closer and smiled slightly, her voice low, " _he_ is gone."

Joseph paused. "Gone gone?"

She nodded, pursing her lips together and watching him closely.

 

"Good," he said seriously. "He won't be missed."

"I thought we might agree on that," she smirked softly and shrugged, her voice lowering, "as far as the police knows, he killed me and is on the run, that's what we're sticking to."

He nodded slightly, glancing sideways at the brunette who was standing close to Chloe's side.

"I'm Lois Lane. Chloe's cousin." She eyed him for a moment then held out her hand.

He reached out and shook it. "Joseph Wiley."

"Joseph has been helping me a lot," Chloe told Lois quietly, "I wouldn't have gotten through this without his help."

Lois glanced at her. "Thank you for whatever you've done," she said to Joseph, who nodded.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at Joseph again, "if anyone asks, we don't know where Lex is and I broke out of the hospital. I will let the media know soon enough." She paused, "have you heard from Oliver?"

Joseph paused. "I got a very generous paycheck two days ago, but I haven't spoken with him."

She took a deep breath and nodded, "he vanished, we're trying to find him."

"He thinks you're dead," he surmised.

Lois folded her arms across her chest. "But she's not, so we need to find him so he knows that."

Chloe nodded slightly, glancing at her cousin then taking a deep breath, "if you hear anything, let me know."

"I will," he promised. "I should let the others know you're here at least. Can I get either of you anything?"

"Maybe some coffee?" She asked, feeling awkward to be asking Joseph for something like that, but not so much about the next portion, "there are three men working with us, they can come and go as they please, but I don't want anyone else walking inside the mansion, is that something you can help me with?"

 

Joseph smiled at her. "Just let me know who they are and I can guarantee no one else will get past that front door."

Chloe smiled softly at him and nodded, feeling better about the whole thing already, with Joseph's help, they would be safe in the mansion and could make it their headquarters for now, that way she wouldn't have to worry about moving her mom or anything else and there was plenty of room, "thank you, I'll introduce you when they get back," she paused, "oh and one more thing, no one gets access to the surveillance videos except the six of us."

 

He nodded slightly at her. "It's your house now," he told her quietly. He headed for the door. As far as he was concerned, Chloe had more than earned the right to do whatever she wanted with the mansion, and anything in it.

She sighed deeply and relaxed slightly, she was worried about Oliver and her number one priority right now was to find him, but she had to admit, it felt good not to be scared and having to sneak around anymore. She still had the police and Lionel Luthor to deal with, but she was free again.

"You need to eat something," Lois decided, watching her intently.

Chloe paused for a moment, turning to look at Lois and nodding, "yeah, I'm actually pretty hungry, we can ask the kitchen to make us something, what do you feel like having?"

She tilted her head to one side, thinking. "Burgers?" Then she frowned. "Wait, nevermind. It's morning. Stupid European time zones."

"If you want burgers, we can have burgers, Lo," she told her, smiling a little.

 

"Your staff is going to think I'm crazy."

" _My_ staff?" She rolled her eyes, "and they've been serving Lex for years, I don't think having burgers at eight in the morning is even a blip on their crazy radar."

"Well, they are your staff now," Lois pointed out, sitting down on the edge of Lex's desk.

"I don't plan on actually staying here," Chloe admitted, walking around the desk and sitting back down, "it's just big enough for all of us to be able to stay here and work on finding Oliver right now, but after this is over with, I wanna go back to Metropolis."

 

She was quiet for a moment. "Can I ask you something?"

Chloe called the kitchen and asked for their 'breakfast' then pursed her lips together, looking at her cousin, "yeah?"

Lois studied her for a long moment. "When did you and Oliver wind up close enough that you turned to him for help?" she asked curiously.

Blinking, Chloe looked down at the desk for a moment then leaned back against the chair, considering her answer carefully, she didn't want Lois to feel like she had gone behind her back after their break up, "Clark and I met Bart a few years ago and apparently, Bart met Oliver not long after that and started working for him, but a few months ago, Lex kidnapped Bart and was experimenting on him and his power, Clark went to help break him out and asked me for help, so I went to the Clock Tower and told Oliver that I was there to help and started working with them."

She paused a little, "it was a one time thing until about... five months ago, I heard about Oliver's work and about how he was going around to destroy Lex's labs where Lex was experimenting on meteor freaks and called Oliver and asked if I could help," she looked at her cousin for a long second, "what I didn't tell him was that I wanted to help because Lex had just experimented on me in one of those labs."

Shaking her head, she sighed, "but that's not the point, I worked with him a couple of times until Lex found my mom and started blackmailing me, so when I told Oliver I wouldn't be working with him anymore, he accepted but felt like something was wrong and took it upon himself to figure out what it was and help me, I never asked him to do it."

Lois took a moment to absorb all that information when something dawned on her. "Oliver _is_ the Green Arrow." She slid off the desk, her eyes widening a little. "I was right all along."

Chloe stilled completely and stared blankly at her cousin, her eyes a little wide. She didn't mean to help Lois connect the dots and she thought that she had done a good enough job of keeping things superficial, but clearly not.

"Don't give me that look." She frowned at her cousin. "You know I'm not going to say anything." She sighed softly.

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded, "I know, but like I said before, it's not my secret to tell."

"You didn't." Lois shrugged a little. "I just figured out what I already knew."

Pursing her lips together, Chloe nodded, "I guess you already know about the other three anyway..."

Lois smiled a bit. "All right, so how can I help?"

"Well," Chloe paused for a second, a little uncomfortable, "you probably know Oliver better than I do... where do you think he could be?"

She paused, looking suddenly a little uncomfortable too. "Honestly, Chloe? Oliver and I didn't...do a lot of _talking._ "

Chloe looked at her for a moment then nodded, "right..."

"But I do know this. Whether he's using credit cards or his cell phones or not? Someone's seen him. Someone knows where he is. A guy like Ollie doesn't just vanish off the face of the planet. Too many people know who he is." There was certainty in her voice.

Squinting a little, Chloe considered that for a moment, "you're right. And I know he didn't use his plane or one of his cars, so he can't have gone that far."

"So we just have to figure out where he'd go." Lois studied her for a moment, thinking.

Chloe stood up again, starting to pace the study, "do you think he would have left Metropolis? I mean, Joseph said he just got paid two days ago so he had access to his bank account then."

She thought for a moment. "If he did, you're right, he couldn't have gotten too far without leaving some kind of a trail."

With a deep breath, she looked at her cousin, "I'll check his bank account transactions again, and I'll look for car rental places around the Clock Tower area. If he uses an alias, I think I can figure it out, then we'll ask the boys to start asking questions while they search Metropolis instead of just looking around. Give people some cash, they will give answers."

"Yeah, you're right. Not a lot of people care unless they're paid to." Her voice was quiet.

"At least we can finally put Lex's money to good use," Chloe said firmly, turning around and walking back to the computer, typing fast once she sat back down.

Lois watched her for a moment, then started to say something when a woman came through the door with two plates of food. "Oh, God bless you, I'm starving." Lois walked over and took the plates from her, carrying one over to Chloe.

"Thank you," Chloe told the woman, who was staring at her like she'd seen a ghost and with a nod, left the room quickly. Apparently everyone had made the same assumption Joseph had. "Thanks, Lo," she said, taking the plate and placing it on the desk before going back to typing, she was hacking Oliver's bank account and although it was a lot faster to have Victor do it, he was more useful out there than she was.

"Sure thing." She took a big bite of the burger and groaned, closing her eyes. "Oh, food. _Good_ food."

"Yeah..." she nodded a little, not looking up from the screen, "they know what they are doing in that kitchen," even if the only time she really ate was when Lex wasn't around or when she was starving from the healing, she could appreciate the good quality of the food that was put in front of her every single time.

"All right, so what would Ollie be off doing?" Lois took another bite of her burger.

"I have no idea," Chloe admitted, trying to think back to the conversation they had had that night on the plane, but it felt like it was so long ago, "from what the boys said, he was pretty shaken up... and his last bad experience was when he was stuck on that island..." she said quietly, trying to think, "that's when he decided to start on the Green Arrow stuff and now he seems to have turned away from it."

Lois considered that for a moment. "Did he happen to say what he was doing _before_ getting stuck on the island?" she asked curiously.

"Partying, drugs, alcohol, women," Chloe said, raising her eyebrows a little at Lois as she finally reached for her plate and picked up a fry.

"So basically he didn't care about anything or anyone including himself," she surmised, finishing off her burger. "So if we assume that's where he is now, what's going on around Metropolis that's less than kosher?"

Chloe squinted a little at the question and turned back to the computer, starting to type once more, "there's some kind of biker's rally thing going on in South Metropolis this weekend..." she said, eating another fry as she kept reading.

"Is his bike gone?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Good question," she said, frowning a little, "I'll have to check with the boys. I assume they would have mentioned it if it was, though."

"I guess he wouldn't necessarily _have_ to take his bike if he was going." She paused. "Especially if he's wanting to stand out."

"No, not necessary," Chloe said quietly, reading again for a second, "there's also some kind of cage fighting thing going on on Suicide Slums."

Lois looked at Chloe. "Sounds pretty dangerous," she commented.

Chloe nodded, meeting Lois' gaze and picking up her phone, "I'll have the boys check out both places."

"Good idea." She popped a fry into her mouth.


	3. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

Chloe had hacked Lex's account too and transferred money to her account, that way the boys would have cash to buy information that night. They were going to both the rally and the cage fighting and she hoped she and Lois had been right about those places. It did make sense for Oliver to go back on a self-destructive kick if he really felt as bad as the boys said he did, which Chloe couldn't help but feel guilty over. She wished she'd known somehow that that would happen to her when she healed someone else, wished she'd told him to just let her sleep it off for a while and that she would be okay.

But feeling bad wasn't going to make things any better, she had to focus on finding him and letting him know she was okay.

She had to stop herself from pacing somehow, so she and Lois were walking around the mansion as they waited for the guys to get back from Metropolis, "I hope they at least find some information so we know what kind of thing he's been doing."

"Yeah, me too," Lois agreed, although frankly she was still worried about how _Chloe_ was really doing. Hiding their thoughts and feelings ran in their family--on both sides. Don't let 'em see you sweat had been one of the Sullivan-Lane mottos and she knew how much she herself had taken that to heart growing up. She also knew she and Chloe were a lot more alike than most people even realized. She walked with her up and down the corridor. "How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," she told Lois, smiling slightly, "just worried about Oliver."

"I know you are," Lois murmured. "But you've been through a lot, Chloe."

She glanced at her cousin and shrugged slightly, "but it's over now."

She sighed softly, knowing that for the moment, at least, she wasn't going to have any luck with this particular subject.

At that moment, AC stepped into the hallway, expression worried as he approached.

"AC," Chloe's eyes widened and she hurried towards him, "what is it?"

"You were right. He was at the cage fighting. Last night," he said quietly, shaking his head. "But he left."

She took a deep breath and nodded, "that's a good thing, though, at least now we know he's still in town, right?"

"At least he was as of Midnight," he said with a slight nod, not quite meeting her eyes.

"What else did you find out, Arthur?" She asked, stepping closer.

Lois narrowed her eyes, also noticing the way he avoided Chloe's eyes.

He drew in a breath and let it out slowlly. "He was hurt. Pretty bad from what I heard." AC looked up at her, rubbing the back of his neck. "But that's not the most disturbing part."

"What is?" She swallowed hard, already trying to think of places he could possibly be at if he was hurt.

"Word is that Ollie dropped ten grand just to be in the cage," he said quietly.

"He wanted to fight," Chloe frowned, pausing for a moment, " _why_?"

"Chloe." AC met her eyes. "He didn't really fight."

Lois stared at him silently.

She blinked, swallowing hard as she stared of Arthur, "we have to find him, if he's hurt and he's not getting help, I need to find him," she said tightly, "where is Bart?"

"He's making a quick run through the streets just in case there's any sign of Oliver somewhere else in Metropolis," he explained. "Victor's at the clock tower, using the computers there to try and find what he can in Ollie's files."

Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath, "he needs to check hotels, motels, any kind of room he could get for the night in the area, if he was hurt, he wouldn't have been able to go too far."

"I'll call Victor, too. Have him start calling places." AC glanced at Lois.

She met his eyes. "I actually have an errand I need to run, but I'll be back soon. Do you need anything while I'm out?" She glanced at Chloe.

"What are you doing?" Chloe asked with a frown, turning to Lois.

"I need to get something to wear besides this." She smiled a bit. "And we're not exactly the same size, Cuz." She hugged her. "I'm just gonna run and get some of the stuff that I left at the Kent's."

Chloe didn't buy that for a second, but returned the hug, she didn't want to deal with Clark just yet and she was sure Lois was going to do a good job of it, "keep your phone on you."

 

"You know it." She looked at AC. "Stay with her?"

He smiled softly. "You got it," he promised.

"All right. I'll be back soon." Lois flashed them a smile and headed down the hall toward the exit.

"She is so going to kick his ass," AC remarked.

"I know," Chloe smiled slightly then took a deep breath, "I'll go see if I can find the numbers for cabs in the area and try calling them, maybe someone picked him up."

He glanced at her sideways. "All right. I'll call Vic." He pulled out his cell phone. "Although I have to admit, I kinda wish I was a fly on the Kent wall for this." A smile tugged at his lips.

"With Lois, you won't have to have been there," she told him, starting back towards the study, "she'll give us all the details when she gets back, trust me."

* * *

Lois didn't even bother knocking before making her way into the house that had been like a second home to her over the last couple of years. She folded her arms across her chest as she spotted Lana and Clark on the sofa together.

She cleared her throat loudly.

Clark's eyes widened a little, since he heard about Chloe, he hadn't been able to control his powers as well, he had been out of sorts and hadn't really heard Lois driving up to the farm at all. With a glance at Lana, he stood up, taking a deep breath, "Lois, I thought you were supposed to get here last night."

"I did, actually." She shifted her gaze to Lana. "Hope I didn't interrupt anything." Her tone indicated that she didn't really care.

Lana rose to her feet uncertainly. "No, we were just...talking."

Clark frowned slightly at Lois, "where were you?"

"At the Luthor mansion," she told him, raising an eyebrow.

 

He stilled at her answer, " _why_?"

Lois paused at that, considering for a moment. "Because that's where Chloe asked me to take her."

Clark froze, glancing at Lana then back at Lois, shaking his head, "Lois, Chloe is..." He couldn't finish his sentence.

"At the mansion. With a mutual friend," she informed him.

"No, Lois, I saw her," he looked at Lana again, starting to freak out, "I saw her at the morgue."

 

Lana looked between them warily. "Did she fake her death somehow?" There was uncertainty in her voice as she looked up at Clark, then back at Lois.

"She didn't fake anything." Lois fixed her gaze intently on Clark. "A lot of strange things happen in Smallville. This can't be _that_ shocking."

"Are you _sure_ it's Chloe, Lois?" He frowned hard, "Lex has cloned people before."

Lois narrowed her eyes. "I know my cousin."

"I need to see her," Clark said, looking from Lois to Lana.

"Yeah, of course, Clark," Lana said softly, reaching out and laying a hand on her arm.

"Not until you and I have a talk first, Smallville." Lois' tone left no room for argument.

Clark blinked a couple of times and looked at Lana.

Lana nodded and rubbed a hand over his arm, "I'll go make some tea." She glanced at Lois for a second before walking out of the room.

Lois watched the younger woman head into the kitchen and out of sight before fixing Clark with an icy stare. "Well, at least now I know what _you've_ been doing the last few months."

 

His jaw tightened and he stared at Lois, "what are you talking about?"

 

"I'm talking about how you turned your back on Chloe like you never cared about her at all at the _one_ time in her entire life where she needed you the most." She shook her head at him.

"That's not true, Lois."

"Then where the _hell_ were you, Clark?" She took a step toward him. "I trusted you to look after her, to take care of her while I was gone. And she wound up married to an abusive asshole who tried to kill her!"

His eyes widened and he stared at Lois, "that's not what I heard." He paused, "they got _married_?"

Between the anger and her exhaustion from the red-eye flight from Finland, and all of the other emotions she'd been fighting to keep under control since she'd found out what was happening, she was dangerously close to tears. "He made her marry him. He blackmailed her, Clark." Her voice was strained. "And there was blood. There was so much blood on that mattress, there was just...blood _everywhere_ , and I don't understand how this happened. I almost ran her over!"

"Lois, calm down," he frowned, placing his hands on her shoulders to hold her in place, "I didn't know any of that was happening, all I knew was what she told me and she told me she didn't want to see me anymore and that she had chosen Lex because he was helping her with her mom..."

 

She pressed her hands to his chest and shoved him backwards. Not very far, but far enough. "Helping her? He was holding her hostage! He told Chloe he'd kill her mom if she didn't do exactly what he said!" She drew in a shuddering breath.

Clark stepped back and dropped his hands instinctively, not to look suspicious, but his jaw tightened. What if Lois was telling the truth? He hadn't believed Oliver but he didn't think Chloe would manipulate Lois like that, "I didn't know..."

 

"You should have," she whispered fiercely, wiping a tear from her face with the back of her hand angrily. "You _should_ have, Clark. You were supposed to know her better than anyone else. Isn't that what best friends are for?" Her chest tightened, too. "But I guess you were a little too _distracted_."

He looked down, taking a deep breath, "I didn't," he paused, still staring at the floor, "she looked happy when I saw her with him. In the pictures."

"Pictures lie," she whispered. "Especially the kind that involve Lex Luthor."

 

He glanced over at Lois and took a deep breath, "is she... okay?"

"No. She's not." Lois looked away. "But Oliver's missing and right now she's too busy and worried about him to process everything that happened."

Clark frowned at that, looking at Lois, "he's missing?"

She shut her eyes for a moment, trying to pull herself together. Then she opened them once more and turned to look at him again. "Apparently he left the day...he thought she was gone. AC and the other two have been looking for him and apparently he was at some underground cage fighting club last night and he paid to get in the fight and didn't even fight back."

His jaw clenched and he shook his head. It was just like Oliver to be so selfish, "of course he did."

Lois's eyes narrowed. "Meaning what?"

"Nothing," he told Lois, "I'm sure he's fine, Lois."

"You mean like you were sure Chloe was?"

His stopped and his jaw tightened. "Oliver can take care of himself."

"You apparently thought the same thing about Chloe. What happened to you, Clark?" She shook her head. "You used to be such a dependable guy. I don't even recognize you anymore."

"I'm dependable," he said defensively, "it was a miscommunication."

"I don't think it was." Lois moved closer to him once more, dropping her voice. "I think you were just a lot more concerned with someone else."

 

"You can't blame this on Lana," he told her tightly.

"I don't blame Lana," she said flatly.

Clark stared at her for a moment then shook his head, "I would never have let that happen if I knew it was going on, Lois."

"Maybe you should pay a little more attention to someone besides her, Clark," she told him. "Are the rest of my things still in your closet?"

He paused for a moment, looking down, "they are in the barn."

"Let me guess. Lana's stuff took their place?" Lois shook her head a little, then turned and headed for the door.

Clark sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, he couldn't believe he had been wrong about Chloe all that time...

 


	4. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/949221.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/952630.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/956376.html)

Oliver stared up at the cracked ceiling of the motel room, then propped himself up on one elbow and took another long drink of the whiskey he'd bought with what little money he had left. He grabbed the pill bottle from the nightstand, yanking the lid off and spilling several, cursing under his breath as he tried to pick them up and ended up spilling several more instead. He gave up on the idea of picking them up, instead popping three into his mouth and washing them down with the liquor before dropping back down onto the bed once more.

He rubbed a hand over his face. He hadn't slept or shaved in a week, his eyes were red from the booze and exhaustion. Every time he tried to close his eyes, he could hear her screaming. He flinched at the sound and wondered if this was what hell was like. He threw his arm over his face, trying to think of something, _anything_ else.

It had taken him hours, but Bart wasn't willing to stop until he had checked every single greasy, cheap hotel in the Metropolis area. He'd been asking questions all night and a thousand dollars later, the owner of this place had finally told Bart that Oliver was upstairs. It was the fourth person that had told him that that night, so he wasn't holding his breath.

He tried the door and it opened, his eyes widening when he saw Oliver, his heart beating fast, "dude!" He said loudly, closing the door behind him, "dude, are you okay?"

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed and he dropped his arm down. "Bart?" His voice was groggy. "What are you doing here? How did you find me?"

"With Chloe's help," he said brightly, "dude, you smell really nasty, when was the last time you showered?"

"You're not funny," he grumbled, shutting his eyes.

"Like I would joke about that?" Bart frowned, "she's alive, man, she only looked dead because she was healing, but she's okay!"

"Right." He turned onto his side, momentarily forgetting about the broken ribs until pain fired through him and he hissed. "Go away, Bart. Shut the door on your way."

"I'm not lying," he said firmly, pausing for a second before stepping closer, "I'm bringing you back to the mansion, you can see her for yourself."

"I'm not going anywhere. Just leave me alone."

"Yeah, you are," he told Oliver, it felt weird bossing him around, but the guy was obviously drunk, so he picked him up with some difficulty, "you better not throw up on me."

Before Oliver even had a chance to protest again he found himself in the corridor of the Luthor mansion. And that was where he threw up.

Bart made a face and looked around, calling out, "Chloe? Lois?" He said as loudly as he could, looking down at Oliver worriedly.

Lois made her way out of the study and froze. "Chloe!"

Chloe was right after her, almost bumping into her cousin as she walked out on corridor, pausing for a second before walking past Lois and over to Oliver, "Ollie," she blinked, then looked up at Bart, "where was he?"

"Some cheap hotel off of 56th," he said, looking down at Oliver then back at Chloe, "he's pretty drunk."

Oliver laid his head down on the floor, shutting his eyes tightly, head still swimming with dizziness and his stomach still turning. He could hear them talking and if he'd had more energy he would've covered his ears. He was losing his mind. It was the only explanation.

"He's hurt," Chloe said quietly, looking at the cuts and bruises all over Oliver then kneeling down next to him and turning to Bart and Lois, "I'll heal him, but if I pass out or appear dead, just let me rest for a couple of days and I'll be fine, don't take me anywhere or call a doctor, apparently it takes time for me to get my energy back."

Lois stepped forward, looking at her worriedly. "Chloe, let's just wait until he's more coherent, okay?" There was a hint of pleading in her voice.

Chloe shook her head, "I don't want to let it get any worse, I'll be okay, I promise." She held Lois' gaze, "it's the least I can do." She said quietly.

Bart looked between the three of them but didn't say anything, worried both because of what Oliver looked like and what Chloe was saying she was going to do.

"Baby, we don't know exactly how your powers work. What if you don't come back this time?" Lois moved over to her.

"I will," she said firmly, "he had been shot last time I healed him, this doesn't look as bad."

Lois shut her eyes for a moment and knelt down beside her, reaching out and taking one of her hands. "I'm staying right here with you."

"I'll be okay," Chloe promised, squeezing Lois' hand before turning to look at Oliver, taking a deep breath and placing her free hand over Oliver's stomach and she immediately felt her palm getting hot.

Lois drew in a breath, holding it as she watched her cousin's hand begin to glow, unaware that the hand holding hers was also starting to do the same. Her eyes were glued to Oliver's form and her eyes widened a little as she watched some of the cuts and bruises already beginning to fade from his face. A wave of fatigue hit her suddenly and she blinked a couple of times, trying to fight off the urge to lay down right there.

Chloe was getting tired too, but she watched as her hand started glowing brightly, blinking her eyes and turning to see if her cousin was seeing it only to see that she looked as tired as Chloe felt and that her other hand was glowing too, her eyes widened more, "Lo..." she whispered, worriedly and blinked for a moment before pulling her hand from her cousin's quickly.

Lois closed her eyes for a moment, leaning back heavily against the wall, her face paler than usual. "What...just happened?" she murmured.

Bart stepped closer to Lois and adjusted her against the wall, frowning hard, "I think.. you were helping Chloe." He frowned, looking over at Chloe, confused.

Chloe blinked tiredly at the two of them, the glow on her hands was starting to fade away and she was barely able to sit up too.

Oliver's eyes were still closed, but he opened them slowly after a long moment, surprised and confused to find that he was laying on tile floor, and that he wasn't in pain anymore. That didn't make any sense. Vicodin wasn't _that_ strong of a drug, and he would know. He pressed his hands against the floor and sat up slowly, waiting for the room to start spinning, but it didn't. And then he looked over, staring blankly at Chloe and Lois, both leaning back against the wall.

With a deep breath, Chloe dropped her hands to her lap tiredly and turned her head to check on her cousin, reaching for her hand and squeezing it with the little strength she had left before looking at Oliver again, opening her eyes a little wider, "Oliver," she whispered.

"Man, you okay?" Bart asked.

"What's going on?" he whispered, staring at Chloe, his heart pounding in his chest.

"I told you, she's alive and she just healed you again," Bart frowned, looking at Chloe worriedly.

"I'm okay," Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath and doing her best to keep her eyes open.

Fear shot through him and he quickly moved over closer to her, pressing his fingers gently to her throat to monitor her pulse. He looked over his shoulder to Bart. "Get her to the hospital."

"No," Chloe said weakly, "I just need to rest, I'm okay."

Bart looked between the two of them then at Oliver, "she said that'd happen."

"This is what happened last time!"

"And she was fine, man, calm down." Bart told him.

Chloe nodded a little, lifting her hand to cup Oliver's, "I heal when I sleep."

Oliver slid his arms around her, lifting her off the floor. He glanced down at Lois, whose head had rolled to one side as she slept. "Bart, can you get Lois?"

Bart nodded and picked Lois up, looking over at Oliver then following him.

Chloe closed her eyes, "I'm okay, Lois helped me," she said tiredly, "please don't leave."

His chest tightened. "You either," he whispered, pained. He carried her into the study, glad that Lex at least had two sofas. He gently laid Chloe down on one of them.

Bart laid Lois on the other couch then ran out of the room, coming back with a couple of blankets.

With a deep breath, Chloe nodded a little, "everything is okay," she mumbled, "make sure Lo is okay."

Oliver took one of the blankets from the younger man and covered her with it. He watched as her eyes drifted shut and then he slowly sat down in front of the sofa, on the floor.

Bart covered Lois, pausing and checking on her pulse, "at least I think she's only sleeping."

He glanced over. "What happened here?" he asked uncertainly.

With a deep breath, Bart sat down too, leaning back against the couch Lois was on, and began to explain to Oliver all about Chloe calling AC out of the blue and telling him she was alive and breaking out of the hospital and everything they had been through to find Oliver, "I swear I don't know how those two figured you would be at that cage fighting place, man, but they did."

Oliver shut his eyes, raking a hand through his hair and falling silent for a long moment. Then he turned to look at Chloe again, reaching out to touch her hand, relieved when he felt her heart beating.

"Is she okay?" Bart asked quietly, checking on Lois too.

"So far," he whispered, staring at her.

Bart checked on his watch and shook his head, "been almost an hour already, they probably just need to sleep and you should seriously take a shower dude, I can smell you from here."

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. "I don't have anything here to change into."

"I'll run and grab you some stuff," Bart said, and before Oliver could say anything, he was back with a pile of clothes.

"Thanks," he said quietly, rising to his feet and taking the clothes from him. He looked down at Chloe's still form once more, then swallowed hard and headed for the door.

Bart sighed deeply in relief and leaned back against the couch as he sat back down. Hopefully everything would be back to normal soon because this whole thing had been far too messed up.

* * *

Oliver returned twenty minutes later, hair still damp from the shower. He was barefoot, but wearing a pair of jeans and a black button down shirt. He'd also shaved after locating a new razor in one of the bathrooms. "How are they?" he asked immediately as he walked into the study.

"Lois is waking up," Bart said, looking down at the older of the two cousins, "Chloe is okay, but she's still sleeping."

He crossed the room slowly, glancing at Lois, then moving over to Chloe's side once more. He gently pressed his fingers to her throat just to make sure for himself.

Chloe stirred slightly in her sleep but didn't wake up, turning towards Oliver a little.

He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead, closing his eyes.

Bart watched them for a second then looked away, checking on Lois once more.

Chloe shifted again, taking a deep breath and starting to open her eyes, even if she was still tired.

When Oliver started to pull away, he caught sight of her eyes opening and his eyes widened a little. "Chloe?"

She swallowed, her mouth dry and smiled slightly, closing her eyes again, "yeah..."

He swallowed hard, too. "How are you feeling? Are you all right?" He reached down again and this time, he touched her cheek.

Chloe leaned into his touch, taking a deep breath and nodding, "yeah, Lois?"

Oliver glanced over his shoulder at Lois, who was stirring slightly. "Looks like she's just waking up, too."

"Lois?" Chloe called, turning her head to look over at her cousin. She was worried about her, she didn't know what had happened or what she had done.

Lois frowned a little, feeling like she'd had too much to drink which was bizarre considering she usually at least remembered the drinking part of the festivities. "Ugh."

Chloe pushed herself up slowly, her head spinning a little, "Lo, are you okay?"

"Easy." Oliver slid his arm around her waist to help steady her.

"How drunk did we get?" She didn't even try to open her eyes.

Chloe rubbed her eyes a little then looked at Oliver, although her eyes were still squinting, "I think... however drunk Ollie was," she smiled slightly.

Bart's eyes widened, "you got drunk through him? That's kinda awesome..."

"Bart." Oliver shut his eyes, resting his head in his hands.

"At least he already did the hurling." Lois added.

Chloe smiled a little at her cousin, then turned to Oliver, "are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said quietly.

Bart shifted uncomfortably, "I'm gonna go find something to eat," he announced before walking out of the room quickly but without running.

Chloe took a deep breath and turned over to Oliver, "I'm sorry you had to go through that..."

"Don't," he whispered. "You...do not owe me any apologies, Chloe."

She paused for a moment and looked down at her lap then took a deep breath, "can I at least thank you?"

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed. "For _what_?"

Chloe swallowed and held his gaze, taking a deep breath, "for coming after me, for saving me, for getting rid of him."

He dropped her gaze almost instantly.

"I mean it, Oliver," she held her breath for a second, glancing at Lois who seemed to have fallen asleep again then looking at her lap, "I thought I could do it myself, but... I don't know if I could have and if it wasn't for you, I can't even imagine how much worse it could get." Her voice was so quiet, her cousin who was only a few feet away probably wouldn't have been able to make sense of her words even if she was awake.

Her gratitude was too much for him to handle and he rubbed his hands over his face, feeling vaguely ill again. "You should lie back down, Chloe. Get some rest."

Chloe sighed deeply and glanced at him but shifted away, pulling the blanket around herself, "I'm okay." She said quietly.

"You're exhausted." It wasn't a question.

"I'm fine," she was tired, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, in fact, she was pretty sure that if she ate something, she would be okay.

Oliver fell silent, then looked over at where Lois was sleeping again, one arm hanging over the edge of the sofa.

Chloe sighed deeply and followed his gaze, pulling the blanket back and standing, she had to steady herself by holding on to the couch for a second then walked over to her cousin slowly. She still wasn't sure what had happened, but apparently, she had sucked Lois' energy to help heal Oliver. She couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if she hadn't pulled away from Lois when she did, if she had sucked more of her energy than she should have. Lois couldn't heal herself like Chloe could.

She adjusted her cousin's arm then brushed hair from her face. Watching her for a long moment, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

He watched her intently, then slowly rose to his feet. He slowly moved to stand behind her, hesitantly reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder.

Chloe stiffened for a second, taking a deep breath then turned to look at Oliver over her shoulder, "she... was holding my hand when I tried to heal you."

The moment she tensed, he quickly dropped his hand away. "Oh," he whispered, guilt clouding his features.

"I didn't know that could happen," she whispered, looking down at Lois again, feeling as guilty as he looked, "I could have killed her."

He swallowed hard, looking from Chloe to his ex-girlfriend silently. He wanted to reach out and hug her, offer her comfort of some kind, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable either.

Clark spend into the mansion and into the study just in time to hear Chloe's words. He stilled, looking from Chloe and Oliver and down to the unconscious form of Lois Lane on the couch, "one death isn't enough for you?" He said tightly.

Chloe blinked, her eyes wide and turned around, except she turned around too fast and her head was still spinning so she had to reach out for Oliver for support, "Clark..."

Oliver quickly slid his arm around her waist to keep her from falling, his entire body tensing at the sudden appearance of Clark Kent. "You don't know anything about what's happened," he warned.

"I know what I see," he said tightly, "Lois came to talk to me yesterday and what? You didn't like that so you were trying to _hurt_ her?"

With a deep breath, Chloe shook her head slightly, just enough so it wouldn't make her dizzy, "you have no idea what is going on, Clark, so I suggest you calm down before you start accusing anyone of anything." It was clear to her that Clark had been all too eager to believe her lies a few months ago, and while it did hurt, she couldn't deal with him right now.

Oliver kept his arm around her, guiding her over to the other sofa. "Lie down," he instructed quietly. "I'll handle this."

"There is nothing to handle," Clark said, walking over to the couch Lois was at, "I'm taking her back to the farm, you hurt her enough as it is."

"Don't you _dare_ touch my cousin," Chloe was on her feet again, the anger in her voice scared even herself and she wasn't sure where the surge of energy was coming from, but she wasn't going to think about it now, her stomach was clenching and she stepped forward, "she's not going anywhere."

Even Oliver was surprised by the vehemance in Chloe's voice, his eyes a little wide for a moment before turning his attention back to Clark. "Chloe healed me, Clark, and Lois was holding her hand when she did it. You wanna blame somebody here, blame _me_." He stepped forward, shaking his head. "You can't really think Chloe would ever do anything to hurt Lois."

Clark was taken aback by Chloe too, but his jaw set and he shook his head, "you already hurt her enough as it is."

"Get out," Chloe said angrily, the thought of someone trying to take Lois away from her was scaring her to an irrational degree, and she had done enough for Clark as it was, she didn't need this, "if that's all you can see, you're not welcome here, get out and stay the hell away from my family."

Lois groaned a little from where she was on the sofa. "Not so loud," she grumbled, struggling to sit up, and rubbing a hand over her face. She looked up, blinking a couple of times in confusion at the sight of Clark. "What are you doing here? What's going on?"

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, glancing sideways at Chloe, and then over at Lois. "Apparently when Chloe healed me, she used some of your energy to do it without realizing it."

"You _healed_ him?" Clark demanded, frowning.

Chloe ignored him, her jaw still clenched for a second and then she looked over at her cousin, her face softening, "I'm sorry, Lo, I didn't know it could happen."

"Are _you_ all right?" Lois looked over at her worriedly.

"I'm okay," she nodded, looking at her, "are you?"

"I'm fine. Just drowsy. And thanks for the hangover, Ollie," she said wryly, rolling her eyes.

He winced a little. "Sorry."

"Everyone's fine. What's the big deal?" Lois looked up at Clark with a frown.

Clark frowned between the three of them and crossed his arms over his chest.

Chloe's jaw tightened at his posture and she straightened her back, "I told you to get out." She said firmly, her voice angry again.

Oliver turned his gaze to Clark once more, as well. "I'll walk him out," he told Chloe. "You two just rest. Clark?" He headed for the door.

Clark's eyes narrowed at Chloe and he could have ran, but he wanted answers, so he walked out of the room with Oliver, he would be keeping an ear on Lois just in case.

"I don't think you should come back here unless you're invited next time," Oliver said evenly, walking down the corridor with him.

"What is going on? How is she alive? How did she _heal_ you?" Clark demanded, stopping and staring at Oliver.

He stopped, as well, and turned to face Clark. "She's meteor-infected, Clark," he said simply.

"I know that," Clark frowned, then paused, "and that's her ability? To heal people?"

He studied him for a moment. "Yes." But Clark had known that, too. Their confrontation in the clocktower just a few days ago had given him that much information. He wondered how much longer it would take before Clark put the pieces of the puzzle together.

"Did she heal herself?"

"She heals herself while she sleeps," he told the younger man, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"I saw her, Oliver, she wasn't sleeping, she was _dead_ ," Clark said, his eyes widening.

"I know." His voice grew quiet. "I think the worse off someone is when she heals them, the longer it takes her to..." He searched for a word that was something besides _restart_.

Clark sighed deeply, looking down and nodding a little, "at least she's okay." He said quietly, looking down the hall, back where Chloe and Lois were. There was a lot more than he thought going on and apparently there had been a lot going on all along and he had had no idea.

Oliver was silent for a moment. "Maybe," he said, not convinced. He looked away.

"What do you mean, maybe?"

"I mean, she's been through hell, Clark."

Clark took a deep breath and his jaw tightened as he stared down to the floor too, "Lois mentioned."

"And my guess is Lois doesn't even know the half of it," he muttered.

"But you do?"

"You could say that."

"What _do_ you know?" Clark asked, frowning a little. He knew he hadn't listened to Oliver in the past, but he figured maybe he should now.

He shut his eyes and shook his head a little. Any second he was sure he was going to hear the screams start in his head again and he exhaled shakily. "He tortured her, Clark. Literally."

"He was hurting her?" Clark asked quietly, his jaw clenched.

Oliver opened his eyes once more to look at him. "I don't get you." His voice was quiet.

"What?"

"I came to you weeks ago for help. I told you what was happening and you wouldn't listen to me. Why now, Clark?"

"I didn't believe you," Clark said simply, looking at Oliver then at the ground.

"And now you do?"

After a moment, Clark nodded.

"So what changed?" he asked, staring at Clark.

Clark's jaw tightened a little and he stared at Oliver, but didn't answer him.

Oliver tensed a little. "Seriously, Clark."

"I thought she was dead."

"She _was_ dead."

"I was scared, Oliver," Clark admitted, his jaw tight, "before, I didn't know what she was doing, I really thought she was telling Lex everything."

His jaw tightened, his eyes darkening. "You know the irony of all this is, you've known her a lot longer than I have. But even _I_ had more trust in her than you did, Clark. And she knew my secret, too. She knew _all_ of it. And even after months of being with Lex, of nothing being printed in the papers, of no men in white coats showing up to take you away or police arresting any of the rest of us for our less-than-legal activities, you _still_ didn't have enough faith in her to look into what was really going on." He stepped closer to Clark. "Do you have any idea the things he did to her, Clark? Did you know he had a secret torture room in the cellar?"

All Clark could do was stare at Oliver, his hands in fists. It was his fault. He shouldn't have been so selfish, he should have listened and he could have put a stop to all of it.

He shook his head a little. "I need to go check on her."

"I'll come back," Clark said, looking down the hallway away before speeding out of the mansion.

His jaw tensed. "Of course you will." Shaking his head again, he drew in a breath and slowly headed back into the study.


	5. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/949221.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/952630.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/956376.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/959895.html)

 

After Clark left, Chloe called the kitchen and asked them to make them lunch, not exactly surprised to hear that it would be ready in about ten minutes. So they all made their way down to the kitchen, Victor and AC were back in Metropolis, but Bart ate with them then left to bring food to the other two, at Chloe's request. Lois herself got up seconds later with the excuse that she needed a shower and a nap, but didn't leave without looking at her cousin and nodding in Oliver's direction.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded slightly, sipping on her water as she watched her cousin leave the room. She and Oliver did have a lot to talk about and the fact that he had barely touched his food told her he wasn't doing too well.

"How are you doing?" he asked quietly, looking over at her with worried eyes.

"I'm okay," she couldn't remember how many times she had said that in the past couple of days, "eating usually helps me," she nodded at his plate, "how are you?"

"I'm fine," he said without hesitation, shaking his head a little and looking down at his plate. "Not really hungry."

"How were things with Clark?" She asked quietly.

He was silent for a moment. "He'll be back," he told her, glancing at her sideways.

Chloe's jaw tightened a little, "if he tries to take Lois away or say anything about how I'm hurting her..." she stopped herself, taking a deep breath as she felt herself getting angry again.

"I know," he said quietly. "If it makes you feel any better, I think he's starting to realize what a monumental ass he's been."

Nodding slightly, she rubbed her hands over her face, "I told Lois this and I'll say it again: I'm glad you were the one helping me and not Clark." She looked over at Oliver, "he wouldn't have been able to do what was necessary."

He looked down at his plate. "Too bad I didn't do what was necessary a long time ago."

"Oliver," Chloe shook her head, "I never thought it could have gotten to that point, I probably wouldn't have let you do it back then either."

"That's the thing, Chloe." He shook his head, too. "I shouldn't have let you talk me out of it in the first place."

"Stop," she told him, sitting up, her voice firm, "just _stop_ blaming yourself, Oliver. I got myself into this in the first place, I didn't have the strength to pull myself out."

He turned his head to look at her, his gaze intense. "Got yourself into this? Are you kidding?" There was a hint of disbelief in his tone. "Lex _used_ you, Chloe, because he knew about _us_. And he held that over your head."

"I didn't even _know_ he knew about you until a long time after I agreed to all of this, Oliver." She stood up, "I got into it because he had my mom, because he threatened to kill Lois and my dad too if I didn't do as I was told, because he knew I was a meteor freak and because I was scared of what that meant," she took a deep breath and stared down at him, "this was _my_ problem. I let him test on me, I let him make me his guinea pig because I was hoping one of those doctors would eventually figure out a way to get rid of my meteor infection and could do the same to my mom, because I was afraid that if they didn't, I would end up like _her_."

The breath caught in his throat as he listened to her. He swallowed hard, his chest tightening at her words as he stared up at her from where he sat. Then he slowly rose to his feet. "Oh, Chloe," he murmured.

" _Stop blaming yourself_ ," she repeated, her voice quieter this time, "it was my own fault. I thought I could get out of it on my own, I had dealt with Lionel before, I thought Lex would be easier."

"You were scared, Chloe." His voice was quiet. "Look at me."

"I was stupid," she said quietly, but angrily, her eyes tearing up as she raised her gaze to his face.

"No," he whispered. "You were _scared_. There's a big difference. You're not stupid, Chloe." He held her gaze. "Whether you think you _let_ Lex do anything to you or not, the fact is you couldn't have stopped him. It wasn't in your control. He had your mom. He threatened your _family_. And that is not your fault."

Her jaw tightened and she looked at him for a second longer then looked away, "I knew one of us would have to die, he knew it too, I should have just killed him in his sleep."

Oliver exhaled slowly, his gut tightening. "Chloe. You're not a murderer," he said quietly.

"No, I just turned you into one because I wasn't strong enough to do what I had to."

This time his jaw tightened. " _You_ didn't turn _me_ into anything." His eyes darkened a little. "You think I regret killing Lex?" His voice lowered. "I don't. My only regret is that I didn't do it a hell of a lot sooner."

"Then why do you look so guilty every time you look at me? Why were you running and getting yourself hurt and drinking yourself into a coma if it's not because you feel _guilty_?" She demanded, her jaw tight and her eyes back on his face.

Oliver stared at her. "You think that was because I felt guilty over killing _Lex_?" A bitter chuckle escaped him.

She just stared back at him.

"You healed me, Chloe." He shook his head. "And then you _died_."

"I didn't know that was going to happen," she admitted quietly, looking down.

"That's why I left," he told her just as quietly. "I may have gotten rid of Lex, but in the end, he had still won. You were still gone."

Her jaw tightened a little and she looked up at him, taking a step closer, "knowing that you were out there and that you believed me and you were willing to help me was what pulled me through that last week."

She was standing dangerously close now. "You were _dead_ , Chloe."

"I was healing," she corrected him, looking up at him, "I'm sorry you had to see me like that," she didn't just mean seeing her dead, but she knew he had seen the video, she knew he had seen them in the study that one night, she had no idea how much more Oliver had to see.

Oliver met her eyes, holding his breath for a moment. "And you're completely healed?" His voice was almost inaudible, his gaze drifting toward her stomach.

Chloe nodded, hesitating for a second before pulling her shirt up just enough that he could see her stomach, not a single scar on her skin.

He let out a shaky breath. "Thanks," he whispered.

She pulled her shirt back down and frowned slightly, watching him, "why are you thanking me?"

"Because I needed to see for myself."

Sighing deeply, she nodded, looking down again, "I did too."

Oliver hesitated a moment, ducking his head to catch her eyes. "Chloe?"

She raised her head just enough to look at him.

"Can I give you a hug?"

Her face softened for a second and she lifted her head a little more to look better at him then nodded, stepping closer and wrapping her arms around him.

Oliver closed his eyes, wrapping his arms around her in return, kissing the top of her head before resting his chin there.

Chloe closed her eyes tightly, resting her cheek on his chest and sighing deeply, she just stayed quiet for a long moment before speaking softly, but making no move to pull away, "you didn't have to ask."

"What?" His eyebrows furrowed a little uncertainly, but he didn't pull away.

"To hug me," she said quietly, opening her eyes, "you didn't have to ask."

He rested his cheek against her hair. "In the past few months, you've had enough of people crossing boundaries without asking," he murmured.

"You're nothing like him," she whispered, tightening her arms around him slightly.

Oliver's chest tightened and he kissed her forehead. "Let's get out of here, Chloe," he said quietly. "All of us. Let's get out of this house."

At that, she pulled back enough to look at him, "what about my mom?"

"Her too." He gazed down at her. "Let me get you out of here. Both of you. And Lois."

Chloe considered him for a moment then nodded slightly.

"Do you want to stay in Smallville? Or would you rather go to Metropolis?" he asked quietly, holding her gaze. "It's up to you."

"Metropolis," she nodded a little and took a deep breath, "I hacked Lex's account, I can buy an apartment and Lois can stay with me."

"Okay," he said softly. "What about your mom?"

"She can stay there too, but I will need to find her a doctor who can know the truth about her..." she said quietly.

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "There's a doctor in Metropolis that's helped out on occasion with the team. His name is Emil Hamilton. If you want, I can set up a meeting for you."

Chloe nodded slightly and took a deep breath, "thank you."

"Of course," he murmured. "And if you're not comfortable with him, I'll find someone else."

"Okay," she took a deep breath and looked down for a second, "maybe... he can check on me too."

He studied her. "You're not a freak, Chloe," he said firmly.

"You don't know that," she told him quietly, "for all I know, I could lose it tomorrow, Oliver."

Oliver tucked his hand beneath her chin gently, making her look up at him. "And do what?" he challenged softly. "Go on a crazy healing spree getting rid of people's papercuts?"

She smiled slightly at that and shrugged a little, "I don't know."

The tiny smile she gave him gave him a spark of hope. "I do. And if everything that's happened didn't make you snap? It's not going to happen." There was certainty in his voice. "You're strong, Chloe. A lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Trust me."

Chloe swallowed hard, her eyes tearing up slightly and nodded, "thank you."

He offered her a soft smile, his own eyes burning before he pulled her close again, hugging her. "You're gonna be all right."

She sighed deeply and hugged him a little tighter this time, "I know," she whispered, and although she knew it would be a while, between him, Lois and the boys, she knew it was true.

Oliver reached up and gently stroked her hair, relaxing a little. "Why don't you get your mom's things together?" he suggested softly. "I'll call my pilot and have us out of here in a couple hours. Will you be comfortable at the clocktower until we find you a place?"

"Yeah," she nodded quietly, "if that's okay with you."

"I'm fine with it," he assured her.

"There are some things I want to get before we go," she said quietly, pulling away finally, "all the documents Lex had on you and Clark were in the safe, I don't want Lionel to find them."

Oliver nodded a little. "All right. We'll get them." He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I really can't thank you enough for everything you did for me," she said quietly, watching him closely and unconsciously leaning slightly into his touch.

He gazed back at her, then leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly.

She sighed softly, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes again. Everything about Oliver was a lot softer, a lot safer than with Lex. Not that she was surprised, and she should be scared about how much she trusted him, but he had been the only person who knew what was really going on all along and he had come in and rescued her, he had killed Lex and he had freed her. She owed him her life and she figured that trusting him was a good enough way to start paying him back.


	6. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/949221.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/952630.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/956376.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/959895.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/962051.html)

 

Much later that evening found Oliver seated beside Chloe on his couch, Lois on her other side, and Bart, AC and Victor in chairs circling his large living room area. There were three open boxes of pizza on his coffee table, and one of them was already empty, largely thanks to their resident speedster. They had settled Moira Sullivan into one of the guest rooms as soon as they'd arrived, and she was resting comfortably, or at least that's what he hoped.

He drew in a breath, reaching out and picking up his bottle of water, taking a long drink. He glanced sideways at Chloe and noticed Lois was doing the same.

"We need a plan," Lois said matter-of-factly. "It won't take long before people start asking questions about where the rat bastard went."

"I was thinking about that," Chloe admitted, taking a deep breath, Oliver and Lois weren't the only ones who kept staring at her, Bart, AC and Vic kept doing the same, although at least Vic managed to be a little more subtle about it, "I think that I need to go to the police, then to the press." She turned to her cousin, "and by press, I mean you."

Her eyebrows shot up. "And tell the police what?" she asked uncertainly, worry in her eyes.

Oliver's reasons for continuing to look at her were vastly different than anyone else's. Part of him was convinced this was all a dream and any second she would vanish and he'd wake up and realize she was still dead.

"The truth," she told her, glancing at Oliver, "or the truth you guys already told the police anyway, about what Lex was doing, about the DVD and about Oliver and Bart coming to find me. Except, I'll tell them I woke up at the hospital and I was scared and I ran away, because I was afraid Lex would find me. Until I heard he was running away because he thought he had murdered me." She turned back to her cousin, "I just want the world to know what kind of monster he really was."

Lois set her jaw. "Oh, they'll know all right," she promised.

"I hate to be the one to point this out," AC said with hesitance. "But there were a lot of doctors and nurses that saw your body, Chloe. You were pronounced dead. What about--"

"A death certificate," Oliver said quietly, glancing at Bart with a nod. "We took care of that already."

"And Vic erased it from my records," she nodded, taking a deep breath, "besides, this is Smallville PD, they've seen stranger things, trust me on this one."

AC nodded a little, relaxing.

Victor smiled a bit. "A lot of us tend to come back from beyond in Kansas."

"Glad to know I'm not alone," she smiled a little at Vic then took a deep breath and turned to Ollie, "might not be a bad idea for you to come with me, we can tell them you're protecting me now and that's why I felt safe enough with letting them know I'm alive."

Lois paused at that. "And Oliver's intimately familiar with Lex's past history of violence." Her voice was quiet.

He shifted his gaze to the floor, nodding a little.

Chloe frowned at that, looking between Oliver and Lois, "what do you mean?"

AC raised an eyebrow, also looking curious.

"Lex and I went to Excelsior together," he said, his voice distant. He shifted uncomfortably, picking up his water bottle once more. "It was an all boy's school. We were the same age, but Lex was a lot smaller than most of us." He blew out a breath. "We weren't exactly nice to him. There was another kid that hung out with Lex. His name was Duncan Allenmeyer." His voice dropped a little.

Sensing his discomfort, Lois took over. "One day Lex snapped. He beat the hell out of Duncan and nearly killed him."

Bart's eyebrows raised a little at that, "guess he was always like that, then."

Chloe glanced at Bart then frowned a little, "I didn't know about that..." she said quietly, looking worriedly at Oliver then nodding at Lois, "but you are right, it might help."

"Assuming there's any evidence to go on besides Ollie's word. Lionel basically covered the whole thing up." Lois sighed softly.

"I don't think that matters with the evidence we have on him _now_ ," AC responded, grimacing as he remembered what was on that DVD.

Chloe's jaw tightened a little and she nodded, she couldn't help but be embarrassed that Oliver was obviously not the only one who had seen the video, "and I'm sure the fact that his name had been carved on my stomach didn't go unnoticed by the cops." She said quietly, looking down at the coffee table, as humiliating as it was, it was good evidence.

"What?" Lois's eyes widened and she turned her head to stare at her cousin.

With a deep breath, she glanced at Lois but didn't meet her eyes, "he knew I could heal, why hold himself back?"

Her expression was stricken. "God, Chloe."

Oliver glanced at her. "He sent it to me the morning after the wedding."

"Wait, what? The _wedding_?" AC's eyes widened in shock.

Bart would have looked as shocked as AC did if he hadn't noticed the wedding dress on the floor when he went to clean everything up, he just hadn't thought about it until now and the more he thought about it, the more grateful he thought Lex should be that he was already dead.

"I married him, well, he made me marry him, last Saturday, only the staff and Lionel were there and after they left, Lex made the video and sent it to Ollie the following morning." Chloe said quietly, reaching over and holding Lois' hand but not really looking at anyone.

Lois tightened her grip on Chloe's hand a little and looked at Oliver. "He's lucky you put a bullet in his head." Her voice was harsh. "Because I wouldn't have been that nice."

Oliver glanced at Chloe with worried eyes and then looked at Lois, shaking his head ever-so-slightly.

"I'm gonna go check on my mom," Chloe said quietly, but stood up quickly and walked into the guest room, closing the door behind her. She knew it was hard for Lois to heard those things and she knew they were all trying to understand everything that had happened, but there was only so much she could talk about it. To say she felt humiliated, weak and pitiful didn't even begin to cover it. And the worried looks everyone, especially Oliver, kept giving her made her want to yell at him to stop it and break down at the same time.

He watched her go, then rose slowly to his feet. "Excuse me," he murmured, heading down the hallway and knocking softly on the guest room door.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked over at the door, wiping her face and shaking her head a little, she was sure it was Lois and she didn't want to talk right now, "I'm okay," she said quietly, hating the fact that her voice shook as she did.

Oliver paused, resting a hand against the door but not opening it. "It's me." His voice was soft.

She shifted a little on the bed, where she was sitting next to her mom and turned to the door, she couldn't shut him out, not after everything he had done, "come in," she said quietly after taking a deep, calming breath.

He hesitantly stepped into the room and closed the door behind him, leaning against it for a moment. "Hey," he whispered.

Chloe sighed deeply and slid down from the edge of the bed to sit down on the floor, "I just needed some time," she was glad the room was almost completely dark so he couldn't see her red eyes.

"If you'd rather be alone with your mom, I can go," he offered gently. "I just wanted to make sure you were all right."

"No, it's okay," she said quietly, bending her knees up and pulling them to her chest.

Oliver was silent for a moment before slowly moving to sit down beside her on the floor, their shoulders just barely touching as he stretched his legs out in front of him.

She sighed a little and turned to look over at him, "do you think letting Lo print something about it is a good idea?"

He glanced at her sideways. "It's really only a matter of time before someone prints something, whether it's speculation or otherwise," he said quietly.

She nodded slightly, looking down at her lap, "you're right..."

He hesitantly wound his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and kissing her temple. "Penny for your thoughts."

Chloe sighed softly and shook her head, shifting closer to him, "I'm just trying to make sure it all fits..." she turned to look at him, "I don't want there to be any holes."

"I know." He nodded a little, meeting her eyes even through the mostly dark room. "We'll make sure everything is in place."

She looked over at him and nodded, "we should write everything down and maybe we can go to Smallville tomorrow?"

"However you want to do this. It's your decision, Chloe."

Chloe held her breath and looked at him for a moment then smiled slightly, reaching over her shoulder and taking his hand in hers with a small nod. It was her decision, all of it, and she didn't have to worry about being found or followed or how she would have to pay for her actions. "Okay."

He laced his fingers through hers without really thinking about it, leaning his head against hers.

She let out her breath slowly and relaxed, shifting closer to him, quiet for a long moment then remembering something, "I owe you a lunch."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed a little. "You owe me a lunch?"

Chloe cocked her head and nodded a little, trying for a smile, "I blew you off last time we were supposed to go."

And then he remembered. "Oh." A soft smile touched his lips. "I guess you do owe me lunch," he teased.

She nodded and smiled slightly at him, "maybe tomorrow, when we go..." She couldn't remember the last time she actually went out to eat.

"Sure thing. Anywhere you want." He smiled.

Sighing softly, she nodded, leaning her head over his shoulder, "I'll try to think of something."

Oliver rubbed her arm gently. "Getting tired?" he asked softly.

"Not really, just... a lot to think about," she said quietly.

He nodded slightly. "Yeah. And I'm sure a house-full of well-meaning friends isn't helping that right now. Is it?" he murmured.

Chloe smiled slightly, not lifting her head, relieved that he got it, "I don't wanna worry anyone anymore than I already have, but having them stare at me like I'm about to stop breathing any second is a little tiring."

He winced, knowing that he'd been doing that as much as anyone. "Sorry about that," he said quietly, his voice sincere.

"I would probably be doing the same if the situation was the opposite," she admitted, shifting on the floor and turning towards him a little more.

Oliver was quiet for a moment. "You stopped breathing as I was pulling you out of my car," he said softly. "I'd just gotten to the hospital." He looked over at her.

She paused for a second, lifting her head from his shoulder and looking up at him, her chest tightening a little, "I'm sorry, I can't imagine how bad it must have been for you."

He swallowed hard. "You don't need to apologize, Chloe. You didn't do anything wrong," he said quietly. "But that's why I keep staring at you. It feels like if I'm not watching, if I'm not..." He exhaled. "It's just all surreal. Like a dream."

Chloe looked at him guiltily for a second then wrapped her arm around his stomach, shifting even closed, "I'm here," she said quietly, "and I'm okay, thanks to you."

"Yeah, well. Ditto," he whispered, sliding his arms around her in return. He rested his chin atop her head, closing his eyes.

She wrapped her other arm around him too, "I'm glad you are okay," she murmured.

He was quiet for a few moments, just holding her, one hand gently rubbing her back. "You and your mom and Lois...you're all welcome to stay here as long as you need to," he told her. "There's no rush."

"Thank you," she whispered quietly, then turned her head to look at him, smiling slightly, "but Lois kicks, I couldn't sleep with her for too long."

A quiet chuckle escaped him. "Well, you don't have to sleep with Lois. I have two guest rooms."

"I don't want to accidentally kick my mom, so I rather sleep with Lois," she smiled softly then shook her head, "and... I kinda want to have my own place," her jaw tightened slightly, "spend his money on something for me."

"You can have my room, Chloe." He paused at her words. "I'm actually surprised he didn't make you sign a pre-nup."

"No, Ollie, it's okay, I'm joking about Lois," she paused, "well, she does kick, but I think it will be good for her to be around me for a while, she's freaked out too," shrugging softly, Chloe paused, considering her answer for a second, "we both knew one of us had to die for this to end, I guess he never even imagined that it could be him."

He watched her for a moment. "You probably already know this, but it's pretty likely you've inherited his entire company."

Chloe frowned a little, "I did think about it but, what about Lionel?"

"That I don't know. It was my understanding that Lionel didn't own anything anymore."

"I guess it doesn't really matter for a while, not until they declare him dead," she said quietly, thinking, "but it's probably not a bad idea for me to know, I mean, I can hack his accounts anyway and transfer the money, but just his personal accounts."

Oliver nodded. "And I'm sure you know if you need any help with that, Victor would be delighted to help out." He offered her a wry grin.

"I know," she smiled a little, "I might need him to get the actual ATM pin number at some point," Chloe paused for a second, "it might not be a bad idea to have a large cash withdraw in a couple of days from somewhere in Germany or something like that."

He cocked his head to the side, considering that. "Not a bad idea."

Chloe nodded, smiling a little, "okay, we'll do that, then."

"And I'm sure Bart wouldn't mind running over to retrieve the cash. Then you can have that too." He smiled softly.

"Oh," she nodded, smiling, "yeah I was thinking about asking Bart to do it, the rest of us couldn't get there without airports."

He grinned. "I think we're sharing a brainwave moment," he teased.

She grinned a little and raised an eyebrow, "is that a good or a bad thing?"

"Definitely a good thing," he assured her with a soft chuckle.

"Good," she smiled a little, looking down.

Oliver watched her for a moment, squashing the urge to ask her yet again if she was all right. He knew she was getting tired of hearing the question from everyone around her, and while he doubted the others would stop asking anytime soon, he could at least force himself to stop driving her crazy. "You get enough pizza?"

"I might have some more later, if Bart left anything," she said quietly, then smiled a little, watching him, "and I'm okay."

He ducked his head. "Guess I'm not quite as sneaky as I thought, huh?"

"It's okay," she said softly, smiling slightly, "we're sharing a brainwave, remember?"

He glanced up and smiled faintly. "I don't want to drive you crazy with asking all the time."

"I don't wanna sound mean," she said quietly, looking down, "but it's different when you ask because... you know."

Oliver studied her for a moment. "Different as in drives you less crazy or more crazy?" he asked quietly, uncertain.

"Less," she admitted, looking at him, "don't tell Lois."

"That I'm driving you less crazy than she is?" He offered her a sad smile.

Chloe nodded and took a deep breath, "yeah, and I get why she is, every little information she finds out, she freaks out and I would be too but, it's just... a lot to handle."

He reached out and gently took her hand in his once more. "I know." His voice was quiet.

She pursed her lips together and nodded a little, squeezing his hand as she looked down at their hands, "thank you."

Oliver squeezed her hand back lightly. "Chloe, whatever you need..." He shook his head a little. "I'm here. Even if you just want to sit in silence but not be alone? I can do that. Just let me know because..." His voice trailed off.

When he trailed of, she looked up at him, raising her eyebrows slightly as she waited for him to finish his sentence.

"There's pretty much nothing I wouldn't do if it's something that can be done," he finished.

She pursed her lips together for a second, taking a deep breath as her eyes got a little teary, "I know," she whispered, after everything he had done for her, that much she was sure of. He was willing to do everything he could to help her.

"Come here," he whispered, shifting closer to her.

Chloe moved closer once again, wrapping both arms around him, "why did you believe me?" She asked quietly after a long moment.

Oliver pulled her close, letting her head come to rest against his chest as he reclined back against the side of the bed, considering her words as he held her. "That day at the restaurant, when we were having lunch and he showed up. Something about the way you reacted. It just felt off, even considering the things Lex had done. You were scared, even back that far."

"That was after the first time he kidnapped me," she told him, pulling her knees up higher and curling up against his side, "I don't remember what happened then, but he put a GPS on me because he knew I was a meteor freak, if Clark hadn't taken it out with his heat vision, they would have come after me and killed me then."

He rested his head on top of hers, a hand resting lightly on her back. "There were other reasons, too," he said quietly, remaining calm at the new information.

"What reasons?" She asked quietly, closing her eyes.

"You were so eager to take him down just a few days before then," he said softly. "No one does that much of an about-face in that amount of time unless something's either not as it seems or they're brainwashed."

"I thought that might have had something to do with it." Chloe nodded, shifting slightly and getting more comfortable as she leaned against him more.

He felt her beginning to relax a little more and he rubbed his thumb lightly over her back, a repetative, soothing touch. "And you just didn't strike me as a person who'd turn her back on her friends," he admitted. "I mean, you didn't on _me_."

She pulled back a little and looked up at him, "when would I have turned on you?" She asked quietly, tiredly.

Oliver met her gaze. "After the breakup with Lois." His voice was soft. "And you didn't even really know me that well then."

"Oh," she nodded a little then shrugged, "even Lois spoke highly of you, I try not to take sides when it comes to her relationships unless I know enough."

A small smile touched his lips and he tucked some hair behind her ear. "So, see? It didn't even make sense, Chloe," he said quietly. "I knew you were acting." There was sadness in his eyes. "You're a good person. I knew it the day we first met, and I know it now."

Chloe leaned into his touch and nodded a little, looking down, "I was afraid he was going to manage to change that," she whispered.

"But he didn't." He shook his head. "He may have tried, but he _didn't_ break you, Chloe."

"With time, he might have," she admitted quietly, remembering how she felt, doing her best to block him out completely, losing herself in her own head.

He gently tipped her head up to look at him. "But you're here," he whispered. "And he's gone. And he's never coming back."

"No, he's not," she agreed, looking at him for a long moment and reaching to cup his face, "and he'll never hurt anyone again, thanks to you."

Oliver searched her eyes, leaning into her touch unconsciously and letting his eyes close for a moment. If he had any say in it, no one would ever hurt her again. He opened his eyes again and offered her a faint smile.

"You're a real hero, Oliver Queen," she told him quietly, smiling softly and unconsciously brushing her thumb over his cheek.

His eyes softened at her words even if they did make him feel uncomfortable. "Come on," he whispered, tugging her closer to him again, gently.

"Come on?" She asked quietly, but letting him pull her closer.

"Get comfy," he teased. He knew she was tired, even if she was trying to fight it. And she definitely need some decent sleep.

"I am comfy," she smiled slightly, wrapping her arm around him again.

"Good." He rested his head atop hers once more, relaxing, too.

She curled up against his side and rested her head on his chest again, closing her eyes and sighing deeply. There was just something so... safe and comforting about Oliver and she didn't know if it was because he had been the one to save her, but she didn't think so, because she had felt safe around him before this whole thing happened.

"Rest," he murmured, gently stroking her back.

Chloe opened her mouth to say something but closed it again, relaxing against him as she fell asleep.

He pressed a kiss against the top of her head, then let his own eyes drift shut. Within moments, he'd drifted off, too.


	7. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

Chloe felt heavy as they walked out of the Smallville Police Station, they were there for over three hours and the sheriff herself had been the one talking to them, which Chloe was grateful for, men usually handled this kind of thing worse than women did, especially the local Sheriff, who, although Chloe saw her flinching, clenching her teeth and looking away at some points, was usually pretty stoic.

They had told the story they had been rehearsing since five that morning and it all connected, they had checked every detail and everything fit, the only thing that didn't was the fact that Chloe was completely healed, but they had enough evidence of when she was at the hospital, so it didn't matter anyway. Chloe gave the Clock tower's address as her current address and as far as she could tell, they had believed every single word.

Oliver had driven them so they walked out and over to his car and she waited until he pulled away from the station to take a deep breath, "what do you think?"

"I think it went fine," he assured her gently, glancing at her sideways. "Everything made sense, and most of it was the truth." Except his involvement in the entire nightmare anyway.

Chloe smiled a little at him and took a deep breath, "we should have Vic check on their files tonight, see what they updated."

He nodded a little in agreement, reaching out and touching her hand. "It's gonna be fine." His voice was quiet, but firm.

She turned her hand in his and nodded, taking a deep breath and squeezing it a little, "I think so too."

 

Offering her a small smile, he didn't pull his hand away, simply focused on the road. "So about that lunch."

"Do you wanna eat here or in Metropolis?" She asked, glad he was still holding her hand, it made her feel better.

"Doesn't matter to me. Are you hungry?" he asked, glancing at her sideways again.

"Yeah... but we have more options in Metropolis so, I can wait until we get back if you can," she suggested, looking over at him.

 

"I can wait," he said with a nod. He squeezed her hand gently. "Anything in particular sound good?"

"Not really, but we have time to figure out, do you have any suggestions?"

He thought about it for a moment. "Italian? Mexican?" He glanced at her. "Chinese?"

"Hm," she paused and considered for a moment, "how about American? Steak, baked potatoes..."

Oliver grinned a little. "Red meat it is." There was a hint of amusement in his voice.

"What?" She asked, smiling a little at his expression.

 

His grin widened just a little. "Nothing."

"Tell me," she demanded, tugging on his hand a little and raising her eyebrow, "are you laughing at me?"

He chuckled. "No. Not really." He glanced at her sideways, amused. "But why do I get the feeling that by the time we get to Metropolis your order will have changed from a steak to a greasy burger?"

Her eyes widened a little and she blinked, grinning, embarrassed as she looked down, "now that you mentioned it..."

He grinned back. "Hah. I knew it," he teased.

"Hey, same concept, red meat and potatoes," she pointed out and shrugged, "besides, I can't remember the last time I had a greasy, downtown Metropolis burger."

 

"In that case, I'm more than happy to help you find the greasiest one in the city provided it also comes with fries and a large milkshake."

"You won't have to," she told him, leaning back against her seat, her hand still in his, "I know exactly where to find it."

"Oh? Where?" he asked curiously.

"Sixth and Red River," she told him, "Lois and I have voted it as the best greasy burger in town."

At that, he grinned again. "Now why am I not surprised about that?"

 

"I would be surprised if you were," she told him, smirking softly.

"I think I need to hear tales of the great adventures of young Chloe and Lois," he informed her with a returned smirk.

"Give Lois a couple of shots and you will regret saying that," she grinned a little, looking down.

 

"Is that the key?" He chuckled.

"For most things when it comes to Lois," she smiled a little, "don't tell her I told you that."

"Your secret's safe with me," he assured her with a grin.

 

"Thank you," she told him with a smile and looked out of the window.

Oliver gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Anytime."

"There is one thing I'm curious about," she told him after a long moment.

"What's that?" He raised an eyebrow.

"Joseph," she told him, looking back at him, "when did you hire him? Why did you hire him?"

Oliver paused for a moment. "That day in the hospital. When you were sick and he brought you in," he admitted quietly, unconsciously squeezing her hand.

 

Chloe raised her eyebrows a little, "so he was helping me even before you paid him to do it?"

He glanced at her sideways. "Apparently so."

"What do you know about him?" She asked curiously.

Oliver shook his head a little. "He was worried about his family and asked that I provide them protection. He said he needed the money and that's why he was working for Lex."

 

"I should talk to him," Chloe said quietly, "see if there is anything I can do, considering everything he did for me."

He glanced at her again. "I've been thinking about seeing if he'd be interested in working for Queen Industries."

"I thought he already was?" She frowned, looking at him.

 

He raised an eyebrow, shaking his head a little. "No, I had hired him to double agent at the mansion."

"Oh," Chloe nodded, raising her eyebrows a little, "in that case, I think that'd be a good idea."

Plus Oliver felt like he kind of owed it to the guy. He'd kept watch over Chloe for the past several months. He glanced at her. "Okay."

"Besides, he kinda knows a lot about us, even if he doesn't know the details." Chloe shrugged, "and a good man like that should be working for someone better."

A faint smile touched his lips. "You keep up the compliments and my head's going to be too big to fit in the car."

"They are facts," she corrected him, smiling softly as she glanced at him.

 

"If you say so." He shook his head a little, amused.

"I do," she told him seriously, but with a smile as she squeezed his hand.

Oliver squeezed her hand back gently. "I think you may be a bit biased, Sidekick."

"I definitely am," she told him, watching him quietly for a moment then looking down, "does it matter?"

His eyebrows furrowed. "Does it matter if you're biased?" he asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," she told him, then looked at him again, smiling softly, "it's the truth as far as I know anyway."

"No, it doesn't matter," he said quietly, lacing his fingers through hers.

She squeezed his hand a little and looked over at him, nodding, "good to know."

Oliver glanced at her in return, smiling softly and then focusing on the road once more.

The drive back to Metropolis had been mostly quiet and a lot faster on Oliver's powerful car than it normally was on Chloe's old Bug, which she was grateful for since she really was hungry, since she had started the whole healing thing, she had been hungrier than normal, and even though she had slept well the previous night, even though she had slept on the carpet with Oliver, she still seemed to need the extra energy that was provided by food.

"The place with the red letters," Chloe told Oliver, giving him directions of where the burger place was.

He grinned a little at the sight of the sign. "Bright red letters," he added with amusement.

"Can't miss it," she grinned softly, finally letting go of his hand as she stretched her arms in front of herself while he parked.

Oliver glanced at her as he shifted the car into 'park' and climbed out of the driver's seat. He moved around to her door and pulled it open.

Chloe looked up at him and smiled a little, "thanks," she climbed out of the car, taking his hand as she did and took a deep breath, it was nice to be out and to be with Oliver and not to have to worry about anything.

 

"You're welcome," he said quietly, watching her for a moment and feeling her relax a little as she took his hand. "Lead the way to the greasy burger haven," he teased softly.

She held on to his hand firmly as they walked inside the small, diner-like restaurant, Oliver felt the need to know she was still okay and still breathing and still alive, and she felt the need to know he was still with her, because as long as he was, nothing bad would happen again. She trusted him with her life. "What kind of milkshake do you want?" She asked as they made their way to one of the booths.

 

"I think I'll go with strawberry," he told her, sitting down across from her but not letting go of her hand. "How about you?"

She squeezed his hand softly and smiled, "that's my favorite."

Oliver grinned. "Mine too," he admitted.

 

"Second favorite?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and smiling.

"Chocolate," he said without hesitation.

Chloe laughed softly. Pausing when she did and raising her eyebrows. She also couldn't remember the last time she had laughed and it wasn't forced. The more time she spent with Oliver, the more the whole thing with Lex felt like a distant nightmare, "mine too, that brainwave thing seems to keep going."

He smiled at the sound of her laughter, glad he'd made her relax enough _to_ laugh. "Apparently so. Third favorite?"

"Oreo," she told him, raising her eyebrow, "but that's not so common, out of the common ones, I'd go with coconut, you?"

"Coconut's a common milkshake flavor?" He raised an eyebrow, too. "Gotta divert and go with vanilla here."

"It is in the Sullivan household, dad's favorite," she told him, smiling a little, "vanilla is so boring..."

"Huh. I'll have to keep that in mind, then." He grinned. "And nothing wrong with boring once in awhile."

Chloe considered him for a moment, "I'll give you vanilla as long as it's half another flavor, or has a lot of caramel topping."

He cocked his head to one side. "Carmel topping, good choice."

"And a cherry, since it has to be thick enough to support it," she told him, smiling and raising one eyebrow.

Oliver grinned brightly. "Can't forget that part."

"Glad we agree," she smiled at him and opened the menu with her free hand.

He did the same, looking over the menu and smiling. "Chicken it is." He shut his menu.

Chloe raised one eyebrow at him, "pretty sure chicken does not qualify as red meat."

"Hey, you have all the red meat you want." He smirked.

"That's it," she sighed sadly, closing the menu, "brainwave is gone, now you'll tell me you will want a side salad instead of fries and I'll have to get up and walk away."

He chuckled. "Oh come on. Fries go just fine with chicken, too. And I'm still getting a milkshake."

"There is hope for you yet," she smiled and squeezed his hand a little, looking down at the menu, "I can't decide between bacon cheeseburger or swiss mushroom..."

"Get both," he suggested. "We can always take one back for later."

"No, it's okay, I'll go with the mushroom this time," she told him, closing the menu, "heating up those burgers is not a good idea, although, we might have to bring one back for Lois or she'll kill me."

"What happens if you heat one up?" he asked with a raised brow, a suspicious look on his face.

"It just doesn't taste as good?" She smiled a little and shook her head, "don't worry, it probably wouldn't give you food poisoning."

"I'm not a fan of being poisoned so I'll just pass on the chance." He grinned.

Chloe made a face and nodded a little, "right, sorry."

He gave her hand a squeeze. "Nothing to apologize for."

"I guess when we get back, I should talk to Lois about her article," Chloe lowered her voice slightly, "how long do you think we should wait?"

Oliver gazed at her. "Not too long," he said just as quietly. "Better to have the truth out there than speculation and conjecture."

"And I guess we don't have to worry about how it looks considering she's my cousin and she would know about it and be able to break the story anyway," she nodded, thinking about it for a second.

 

He nodded his agreement, curling his fingers around hers slightly. "What's your take on Lionel?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know," she admitted, taking a deep breath, "he was at the wedding and he was trying to figure out why I had agreed to marry Lex at all, he knew he was blackmailing me, he just didn't know what he was blackmailing me with."

His expression became troubled at that news. "Guess it's a good thing the father-son relationship was pretty strained."

"Yeah, I guess so, I hadn't seen Lionel at all until the wedding and he seemed shocked to even see me there," she told him quietly.

He tightened his hand around hers just a little. "I'd heard he was out of the country for awhile."

"Do you know where he was?" She asked curious, raising one eyebrow.

"No, but I can't imagine it'd be too hard to find out. I'll get Vic on it," he told her.

"Yeah, we should look into that, although," she squinted a little, "Lionel seems to be less than interested on all things Lex and LuthorCorp lately."

"Which could be good or bad, given the source," he said with a slight grimace.

Sighing, she nodded a little, "yeah, well, his obsession with Clark runs about as deep as Lex's."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, his jaw tightening a little involuntarily. "Clark's a big boy. He can deal with Lionel."

"I know," she told him quietly, watching him for a moment until the waitress came to take their orders then continuing when she left, "I just don't want us to have to deal with him too..."

"We won't," he said softly. "We'll figure it out, Chloe."

Chloe watched him for a second then smiled a little, "I know."

Oliver met her eyes and smiled back gently, falling into comfortable silence.


	8. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

He had managed to drift off a little after Midnight into a restless, dreamless sleep atop his blankets. It had been a long day. Between talking to the police, and talking to the guys to gently tell them to back off a little as far as Chloe went (for which they had all been, thankfully, very understanding about), he was exhausted. He'd slept the night before sitting up while Chloe slept on him. Tonight, she was in the guest room, and Lois was at the Talon apartment, working on her story about what had really happened.

But a frightened scream jarred him from his state of semi-comfort and he sat bolt upright. He recognized that scream. It was the same sound that had been haunting him for the past several days. He quickly moved across his room, out the door, and across the hall to the guest room Chloe was in. "Chloe!" He flipped on the light only to find her thrashing around in bed, covers strewn everywhere as she fought off an unseen attacker.

_He was back. Lex had never been dead at all, somehow, he was alive and he knew. He knew everything, knew what she had done, he knew about the pills and about Oliver trying to kill him. And he was gonna make her pay. First, he locked all of them in his dungeon. Oliver, Lois, her mom, her dad, Clark, Bart, AC, Vic. Each of them in their own station and her in the middle._

_She was the first one, and he had removed her clothes and was whipping her. She could hear them all screaming for her and she kept her eyes closed tightly as she begged him not to hurt her. Not the baby. It wasn't his fault. But her stomach was bleeding and she knew he was dead now. Like everyone around her would be soon. And she'd have to watch. Lex was hurting her enough to leave her in pain as he tortured each and everyone of the others and she watched as he gutted Bart. Strangled Victor. Shot AC. Injected Clark with something she knew was kryptonite._

_And then he cut her dad's throat open, her mom received the same treatment and no matter how much she screamed, how much she struggled to try and free herself, she couldn't move her arms._

_Only Lois and Oliver were left and Chloe was sobbing as she watched him carve the word 'liar' on Lois' stomach slowly and Lois was screaming as loudly as Chloe and Chloe could feel everything her cousin was feeling, every cut and every bruise until finally, Lex shot her repeatedly._

_Chloe closed her eyes, but she could still see all of it, the look on Oliver's face, the enjoyment on Lex's as he let her down to the ground and she fell on a pool of their blood. All of their, of everyone he had taken away from her and it was her fault. And then Lex was on top of her and she knew what was coming, she felt the sharp knife against her stomach, she felt it as it penetrated her skin and she could hear Oliver calling out her name as Lex shook her, pushing her against the floor, covering her in their blood. The blood that had been spilled because of her._

"Chloe. Chloe, hey." He sat down on the edge of the bed, dodging a flailed arm that shot out in his direction. " _Chloe!_ It's me. Wake up, Sidekick."

"No!" Chloe cried, her eyes warm with tears and she threw herself off of the bed, pulling the sheets with her as she moved away until her back was against the wall, covering herself and breathing hard as she kept her eyes shut tightly.

Alarmed and half afraid she'd hurt herself, he quickly followed her, but didn't touch her. He lowered his voice. "Chloe, it's Oliver," he whispered. "It's okay. Everything's all right. You're safe. Everyone's okay." He swallowed hard, his chest tight.

Chloe stilled and didn't move for a long time, her body shaking as she sobbed dryly. Slowly, she lifted her head and opened her eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks and blurring her vision as she looked up at him.

The desolate look she gave him nearly broke his heart. "Chloe," he whispered. "It's okay."

She couldn't think, but she could move and Oliver meant safe and that was how she wanted to feel, so after a seconds hesitation, she crawled over to him and wrapped her shaky arms around him. She was so scared. He had been the only one left and Lex was saving the best for last.

He drew in a breath, winding his arms around her tightly and pulling her into his lap as he held her. "It's okay," he murmured. "You're safe. Everyone's safe." He rubbed her back, leaning his head against hers.

Chloe curled up on his lap and sobbed quietly, turning her face into his shoulder. She knew she would be embarrassed about this later and feel humiliated, but she needed him. Her hero.

Oliver leaned back against the wall, reaching up to stroke her hair, and wondering when he'd become so affectionate. There was just something about Chloe that pulled at his heartstrings, and it was even worse when she was so upset. He just wanted to keep her in his arms, safe and secure.

She clung to him for a long time, her muscles hurting a little because of it, but she didn't let go for a while. And then, she wasn't sure how long after, she took a deep breath and relaxed slightly against him, lifting her head and pressing a soft kiss to his jaw blindly as a thank you.

The kiss caught him off guard but he took it in stride and smiled faintly, looking down at her and tucking some hair behind her ears.

Chloe reached up and touched his face, making sure he was okay as she looked up at him silently.

Oliver searched her eyes. "You want to talk about the nightmare?" he asked softly.

She shook her head a little and closed her eyes. She didn't think she could talk about it if she tried to, all the images popping up in front of her at the same time and she opened her eyes wide.

 

"It's okay," he assured her gently. "You don't have to, Chloe." He touched her face. "What do you say we head to the kitchen and have some hot chocolate?"

Even though she leaned into his touch, she shook her head, "I wanna stay here." The room was dark and Oliver's arms around her were safe. She didn't want to move and she didn't want him to let go of her.

He paused at that, a little surprised, but didn't argue. "All right. Whatever you want," he said softly, leaning in and kissing her forehead.

"Thank you," she whispered, she felt like she couldn't stop telling him that, but he kept helping her.

"You're welcome," he whispered back. He glanced toward the bed. "You wanna get back in bed? Or are you more comfortable here?"

Chloe hesitated for a second then looked up at him, "are you leaving?"

"Not if you don't want me to," he promised.

Sighing deeply, she nodded, "okay, we can... lay down."

"All right." He pulled her a little closer, picking her up as he rose to his feet.

She held on to him until he set her down on the bed, sighing deeply and looking up at him, "are you sure you don't mind?"

"Mind staying?" he asked, crawling into the bed beside her. "No, not at all."

"Okay," she said quietly, hesitating before reaching over and taking his hand.

Oliver shifted closer to her, carefully sliding an arm beneath her pillow as he slid his fingers through hers.

She moved closer to him and looked up at him. She figured she wouldn't want anyone sleeping anywhere near her or touching her when this was all over but Oliver was different. She wasn't at all uncomfortable with him being around, in fact, she felt so much better when he was.

He smiled faintly at her, trying to read her expression. "Better?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she whispered quietly, taking a deep breath and still looking at him.

Oliver nodded and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Was I actually screaming?" She asked quietly, her throat did feel a little sore but she had just wondered why Oliver had come into her room in the first place.

His eyes were sad as he held her gaze. He reached up and brushed some hair out of her face. "Yeah," he admitted, nodding.

"Oh," she looked away and pursed her lips together, "sorry."

"Hey." He shook his head. "You don't have to apologize, Chloe."

"I didn't mean to wake you," she said quietly, even though she was glad he had come in to check on her.

"I wasn't sleeping well anyway," he told her honestly.

"Oh," she frowned a little, looking up at him worriedly, "why not?"

He grinned at her reassuringly. "I'm sort of nocturnal."

"Of course you are," she smiled a little and nodded, squeezing his hand.

Oliver watched her for a moment, then shifted closer and kissed her forehead, resting his head on her pillow. "Think you can go back to sleep?" His voice was quiet.

"Probably," she told him quietly, watching him, he was so close to her, but it didn't bother her at all, she lifted a hand to touch his face, "can you?"

"Well enough, I'm sure," he said with a slight nod.

Chloe smiled softly and nodded, "at least I'm not making you sleep on the floor this time," she said quietly, her fingertips touching his cheek softly.

Oliver chuckled. "Floor's not so bad, really. Carpet's soft at least." It was rare for him to be so physically close to a woman without _sleeping_ with said woman. Granted, they were in bed together, but that was the farthest thing from his mind right then.

She smiled a little, nodding and moving his fingers to touch his hair, not really thinking about it, "well, wouldn't expect anything else from you."

"Glad to hear you think I have good taste." His voice was soft, teasing. He just wanted to help keep her mind off the bad stuff so maybe she could fall back to sleep without it in her thoughts.

"Mostly," she smiled, looking down then at him again, "the whole green leather thing, though, I'm not so sure about," she teased.

"Ouch. And here I thought you liked green." He grinned.

"Well... it's not as good as orange," she raised an eyebrow and smiled.

 

"So orange is your favorite color?" He smiled back at her.

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, "I guess that's a detail I didn't tell you during that plane ride." It felt like ages away, but in the past few months, she kept thinking about it, about how excited she was and how good it felt to go up against Lex and to actually work on something that could make a difference. If only she knew back then what was coming.

He watched her for a moment, took note of the subtle difference in her demeanor. "I have a feeling there's a lot of details I didn't learn back then."

"Well," she held his gaze and shrugged, "you can learn them now."

He smiled. "Good. I'd like to," he said honestly.

"Me too," she nodded, squeezing his hand then pausing for a second, "and... I want to go back to being Watchtower, if that's okay with you."

Oliver watched her for a moment, then nodded slightly. "That's fine with me. Be good to have you back on the team."

Chloe took a deep breath and smiled a little relieved then nodded, "thank you."

He nodded back at her. "Nobody else could do that job as well as you."

She squeezed his hand a little and watched him for a long moment, "I'm glad I can be a part of it again."

"Me too," he whispered. Despite the fact she'd really only been a part of the team for a few days before everything with Lex went down, the next mission the team had gone on had felt different. Less friendly. More lonely.

Chloe shifted closer to him and smiled a little, nodding then sighing deeply and closing her eyes.

Oliver wound his arm around her, resting his hand lightly against her back. "Goodnight," he whispered.

"Goodnight," she said quietly, wrapping her arm around him and resting her face on his chest.

* * *

Oliver had just sat down at his desk the next day, pulling up every file he could find on Lionel Luthor and his whereabouts in the last few months. He'd had Victor looking into it and apparently the oldest Luthor had done quite a bit of traveling during his time away. Chloe was visiting with her mother, and he cast a glance toward the hall, toward the closed door, keeping an eye out just in case.

He wondered if he'd ever shift out of 'just in case' mode.

If he did, he had a feeling it wouldn't be for a very long time.

A gust of wind made him sigh as his papers went flying. "Bart..." But when he looked up, it wasn't Bart. His expression quickly slid into one of even neutrality as Clark stood before him. "Clark."

Clark slid his hands in his pockets and looked at him for a moment, "is she here?"

"She's with her mom, but yeah."

"I need to talk to her," he said quietly, looking down guiltily.

Oliver drew in a breath and let it out slowly, studying him for a moment and recognizing the guilt he saw there. Mostly because he felt it too. "I'll see if she's up for a visitor," he told Clark, rising to his feet.

Clark nodded in thanks and took a deep breath.

He headed down the hall, knocking softly on the door to the guest room and waiting.

"Come in," Chloe said quietly, looking over to the door.

Oliver opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it behind him quietly. "Hey." His voice was soft.

"Hey," she sat up a little, worried, "everything okay?"

He gazed at her a moment, then sat down beside her on the bed. "Clark's here," he said quietly. "He's asking to see you. But it's your choice. If you don't want to talk to him right now, you don't have to."

"Oh," Chloe took a deep breath then nodded a little, "I'll talk to him."

He watched her for a moment. "Okay. Do you want me to send him in, or would you rather talk to him out there?"

She considered for a second then stood up, "I'll talk to him outside, I don't want to upset her," she told Oliver quietly then looked at her mom.

Oliver rose to his feet, as well. "I'll be in my room if you need anything." Like help with pelting Kryptonite at Clark's head, he added silently.

"Thank you," she smiled a little at him then started toward the door.

He glanced down at Moira Sullivan as Chloe headed out the door, then sighed softly and headed for his room.

Chloe took a deep breath before she made it into the main area of the clock tower, watching Clark silently for a moment, "you wanted to see me?"

Clark looked up as she entered the room. "Hi." His voice was quiet.

She raised an eyebrow a little, "hi..."

"I talked to Lois." He hesitated. "She showed me the article she was working on."

"Oh," Chloe paused at the information, watching him, "what did you think of it?" She asked, stopping herself from asking if he believed in it instead.

He looked down at the floor for a moment, silent. "I'm sorry, Chloe."

That was a start. But she didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around herself and looked at him.

Clark looked back up at her, a little uncertain of what else to say when she didn't respond. "How's...how's your mom?"

"She's... the same." Chloe said quietly, at least she was safe now.

He nodded a little, moving over closer to her. "And you?"

"I'm okay." She told him, looking at him as he moved closer but not asking how he was.

He moved closer, wordlessly pulling her into a hug.

Chloe stilled for a second then half-heartedly returned the hug. It hurt that he had given up on her so easily, even if it was for the better, but it hurt her more that he didn't blink before accusing her of harming her own cousin.

The half-hearted effort didn't go unnoticed. "Chloe, I said I was sorry." His voice was hurt.

"I believe you," she told him, looking up at him, "but just because you said that, it doesn't make everything better instantly, Clark."

He let her go, wincing a little as he stepped back. "What will it take?"

"Time." She told him, her expression blank. She had become very good at hiding everything she was feeling, especially when she was hurting.

Feeling rejected, he frowned. "You know, you're welcome to come stay with me and Lana at the farm, Chloe. You don't have to stay in Metropolis."

"I want to stay with Oliver," she told him, stopping herself from saying she would hate to interrupt the perfect little life he and Lana had together now, she had heard what Lois had to say about it and wasn't surprised.

At that, he frowned even more deeply. "Why?" He shook his head.

"Because he believed in me." She said simply.

"Chloe, you're the one who told me to stay away from you, that you _wanted_ Lex's help." He shook his head.

"I guess I can't blame you for listening to me," she raised an eyebrow, "but I feel safe with Oliver and this is where I want to be right now."

"Oliver makes you feel safe?" There was a hint of skepticism in his voice that he couldn't quite hide.

"Yes." She told him, crossing her arms over her chest, "and this time, I'm actually telling the truth."

Clark stared at her blankly for a moment, then frowned. "All right." His jaw tightened a little as he looked toward the hallway then back at her. "If you change your mind, you know how to find me." He paused. "Be careful, Chloe."

"Too little too late," she murmured, staring at him.

"I meant...with Oliver."

"Oliver would never hurt me, Clark," she told him firmly. That much she was sure of.

"Not intentionally. But if it ever comes out that he murdered Lex?" His jaw tightened a little. "I don't want you caught up in the middle."

"I couldn't be in the middle of it, Clark, because _I_ am the reason he murdered Lex. And if Oliver hadn't done it, I would have done it myself." Her jaw was tight too and her eyes narrowed with determination.

"I don't believe that," he said, shaking his head.

"You should, it's the truth."

Clark shook his head again. "You're not a killer, Chloe." Not wanting to hear anymore, he headed for the elevator. "I'll visit again soon."

"You have no idea what I am anymore," she told him, staring at him and watching as he ran away. The truth was more than he could handle, apparently.

He didn't respond, simply turned to watch her as he slid the gate shut on the elevator.

Chloe took a deep breath and rubbed her hands over her face, letting her breath out slowly as she turned around and started down the hallway. Even though Clark read Lois' article, he still didn't seem to understand that you couldn't go through hell and come out the same way. It didn't work like that.

She stopped outside of Oliver's room and knocked quietly.

A moment later, he opened the door, searching her eyes, then stepping aside to let her in.

She held his gaze for a second then walked inside, she hadn't been in his room yet and although it was similar to the guest rooms, it was bigger and more... Oliver. She couldn't explain why, maybe it just smelled like him, whatever it was, it looked and felt welcoming.

He watched her for a moment. "Didn't go so well?" he guessed, voice soft.

"He apologized," she told him, walking over to the window and looking out.

Oliver slowly moved over to her side. "Sometimes, from some people...it takes more than that."

"I agree," she told him, glancing at him out of the corner of her eyes.

He hesitantly reached down and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Maybe he'll surprise you," he said quietly.

She looked down at their hands and linked her fingers with his, "I don't care."

"You don't?" He raised his eyebrows, not really believing that.

"I have more important things to worry about than Clark, clearly he feels the same way." Her voice was completely neutral as she stared outside, blocking everything she was feeling as well as she could.

Worry flickered over his face. "He let you down, Chloe. It's okay for you to be angry or hurt, or whatever it is you're feeling."

"I'm okay," she said automatically, expression still blank.

Oliver drew in a breath and turned his head to look out the window, as well. She wasn't okay.

She wasn't even close.


	9. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

Lois' article had come out a couple of weeks ago and since then, Chloe had been doing her best to hide. There were reporters outside the Clock Tower day and night and her phone had been ringing so much, she finally disconnected it and got a new number. The fact that her number was in every employee contact list at the Planet didn't help, even though she hadn't been there in weeks, it didn't matter. Everyone knew why now and they wanted to ask questions and be the ones to write a follow up story.

But Chloe wasn't worried about the press. There was something a lot bigger going on and she had no way of confirming it or denying it.

Her period had been late for two weeks and she didn't notice until the previous day and she had locked herself in her room since. She hadn't had anything that could be morning sickness but she did fit some of the other symptoms. She was tired all the time and she had been eating more than normal.

She knew Oliver was worried and she wouldn't be surprised if he was standing by her bedroom door since the previous day. But she didn't want to mention it to anyone, especially not him. The problem was that she had no way of getting her hands on a pregnancy test, she couldn't leave the building without half of the reporters in Metropolis following her, she had only one choice: Lois.

And so she had texted her cousin earlier and had asked her to pick up a few and come see her after work. Now she just had to wait and try her best to avoid Oliver.

 

She had shut him out.

Literally.

He sat in the hallway, his head resting against the wall, staring blankly at the one opposite him. He'd given up on knocking because she had simply gone silent. Part of him hoped she was just sleeping, but the other part knew better. Something had upset her to the point she didn't want to see anyone, and that included him.

She hadn't been able to sleep at all. Chloe went between pacing, sitting on the bed and trying to think about what the hell she was going to do if she it turned out she _was_ pregnant. Now that the article was out, _everyone_ would know who was the father and what kind of relationship that kid had come from.

On top of that, she was twenty years old, how on Earth was she supposed to raise a child?

"Chloe." His voice was quiet, but loud enough that she could hear him.

Chloe stilled and looked over to the door, sniffing quietly and wrapping her arms around herself but not saying anything.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and remained sitting where he was. "I don't know what's going on in your head right now," he said just as quietly as before. "But whatever it is, you don't have to deal with it alone. I'm here, Chloe. And I'm not going anywhere."

She wiped her face and took a deep breath then started toward the door. She wanted to talk to him, but she was afraid of what he would say or think. Even though she knew he was Oliver and he had been nothing but wonderful to her, this was much bigger than her or him.

He heard her footsteps approaching, but didn't rise to his feet, not sure if she was going to open the door or just move closer. "I was thinking...maybe we could take a trip soon. Just get outta Kansas for awhile. Go someplace quiet, away from the city and everything."

Pursing her lips together, she walked to the door but didn't open it. She sat down on the ground and pressed her back against it instead, hugging her knees tightly to her chest. Going away would be good. Especially to a place without people.

"Maybe Hawaii. Some place warm. With a beach." A smile tugged at his lips. "Ironic, huh? Me wanting to go to the beach?"

Sighing softly, Chloe smiled slightly at that. Considering he got stuck on an island for a long time, it was a little ironic. And she knew he was going out of his way to reach out for her and she wanted to reach under the door and touch his hand, but she knew it was stupid. She should just open the door and let him in. She didn't really have to talk to him about it, she could just enjoy his company until Lois got there.

And so she got up and opened the door carefully, her eyes red and puffy from all the crying she had been doing in the past twenty-four hours.

Oliver glanced up when the door opened. He rose to his feet slowly and offered her a small smile. "Did I sell you on Hawaii?"

Chloe tried for a smile but didn't say anything, just stared at him. She wondered how he would react, what he would say.

He held his hand out to her wordlessly.

She looked down at his hand for a second then took it, squeezing it tightly.

He squeezed back gently. "You wanna come sit on the sofa?"

After considering him for a second, she nodded and stepped closer to him.

Oliver smiled a bit and led her down the hall and out into the main area of the clock tower, sitting down on the sofa and watching as she did the same.

She sat down close to him, her hand still in his and looked over at the clock. Lois shouldn't be much longer, or so Chloe hoped. "Are they still downstairs?" She asked so quietly, even she could barely hear herself.

He sighed softly. "The vultures? Yeah. They're still down there."

"I should be offended by that..." she said quietly, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, but you're not." He flashed her a grin.

Sighing softly she laid her head over his shoulder and shrugged slightly. She wasn't sure what she was other than glad he wasn't asking questions.

He rested his head against hers. "You know that doesn't include you or Lois." His voice was gentle.

Chloe nodded, covering his hand with her other hand too and squeezing it gently. A few months back, she would never have imagined Oliver could be so gentle and caring. It was a nice surprise.

Oliver sat quietly with her for several long moments and when he heard the crowd began to get louder downstairs, he raised an eyebrow. "I think this means Lois has arrived."

She sat up, holding her breath. She hoped so. She had to know.

"...get a restraining order!" Lois shouted at them even as she rolled the gate up. "Hey. I'm here. Sorry it took so long." She looked at Chloe, her eyes filled with worry. "Traffic downtown is a bitch and the crowd down there, well. Ollie, you really should do something about them."

Chloe stood up quickly and nodded, looking at her cousin, "did you get it?"

 

"Four different ones. Just in case." She held up the bag.

"Thank you," Chloe told her, taking the bag and disappearing down the hallway.

Oliver blinked a couple of times and looked at Lois. "Care to fill me in?" he asked uncertainly.

Lois looked worriedly in the direction her cousin went then sighed, looking up at Oliver, "she asked me to bring her pregnancy tests."

His eyes widened a little and he felt like she'd punched him in the stomach. "Oh."

And that was why Lois chose to tell Oliver in the first place. Because if Chloe was, he better rehearse a better reaction that that. "Yeah, guess we have three to five minutes to wait."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, already gathering back the carefully placed facade of calm. "Guess so."

Lois watched him for a second then nodded, "much better," she told him about the look on his face then started pacing.

He watched her pace for a few seconds then raised an eyebrow. "Time for you to work on yours."

"It's not gonna fool her anyway," Lois said with a shrug, crossing her arms over her chest.

He didn't answer, simply looked down at the floor, his hands resting on his knees.

Lois managed to stay in the living room for over two whole minutes before announcing, "I'm gonna go check on her."

"Lois. Just...give her the time." His voice was quiet.

She frowned and looked over at Oliver, "she might need help with something."

Oliver looked at her skeptically. "I don't think she needs assistance peeing on a stick."

"She better be done with that part already, I can't wait much longer."

"Yeah, well. Imagine how she feels."

Lois glared at him at that and sighed. Damn that man and his logic.

He didn't react to the glare, just shrugged a little.

 

What felt like ages later, Lois heard the door to the guest room opening and looked up to see her cousin walking out of it, her heart beating fast but she didn't want to ask anything and it was taking a lot of effort to keep her mouth shut.

 

Oliver rose to his feet, glancing at Chloe with uncertainty in his eyes.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked between the two of them, stopping when she reached the end of the corridor, she could tell by the look on Oliver's face that Lois had told him. She paused for a long moment then shook her head, smiling slightly, "I'm not."

 

He relaxed and offered her a small smile, watching as Lois engulfed Chloe in a hug almost instantly.

"Good. Thank God." Lois held her tightly.

Chloe hugged her cousin back, sighing deeply and holding her tightly back, closing her eyes.

Oliver smiled faintly, then slipped past the cousins and down the hall silently.

After a moment, Chloe opened her eyes and when she didn't see Oliver there, she looked around, frowning a little.

Lois pulled away to look at her. "Least that one's thing you don't have to worry about."

"Yeah..." Chloe said distractedly, looking back at her cousin, "I wanna have Oliver's doctor check to make sure but all four of those tests were negative."

"Sure, of course." Lois frowned a little. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," she took a deep breath and smiled a little, "I'm okay." This time, she actually meant it. She was incredibly relieved.

"Good." She smiled back. "We should celebrate."

"You can buy me alcohol," Chloe told her, raising one eyebrow.

Lois beamed. "That I can definitely do."

She smiled at her cousin then looked around for a second, "where did Oliver go?"

"I don't know." She shrugged a little.

"I'll go find him," Chloe told Lois quietly then let go of her, turning around and walking down the hall, frowning slightly.

Lois frowned, too, watching her go.

Chloe knocked on the open door to Oliver's room and cocked her head a little, "Oliver?"

"Come on in." He glanced toward the door from where he sat on his bed.

She walked in, looking at him for a second, "are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he assured her. "Are you?"

"Yeah..." she said quietly, looking down and stepping closer, "sorry I freaked out and locked you out..."

"It's okay, Chloe," he said softly. "You don't have to apologize for anything."

"I know you were worried, I just, I was... freaking out." She said lamely, trying to read him.

Oliver rose to his feet and moved over to her. "I know," he said with a slight nod.

"Lois said we should celebrate," she told him quietly, "and promised to buy me alcohol."

A smile tugged at his lips. "I'll give her my credit card to use. You deserve the _good_ stuff."

Chloe smirked a little and shook her head, "don't worry, I can give her mine."

A chuckle escaped him. "Whatever you'd rather do."

She nodded a little, "you'll join us, right?"

"Yeah, if you want me to." He nodded.

"Of course I do," she told him quietly, then paused, looking down, "unless you think it would be weird..."

His eyebrows furrowed. "Why would it be weird?"

"Because of you and Lois," she told him, raising an eyebrow a little and keeping her eyes on his face.

"Oh." He paused a moment and shook his head. "I don't think so. I mean, she knows why and...a lot of time's passed." His voice was gentle. "Unless it would make you feel uncomfortable. If you two need a girl's night, I can make myself scarce and go patrol or something."

"No," she shook her head, her eyes a little wide and took a step closer, "you should be here."

The flash of fear in her eyes caught him off guard. "Okay," he said with a nod, lifting a hand to her face without thinking about it.

She blinked and leaned into his touch a little, sighing softly. She had to figure out a way to calm down and stop freaking him out.

He stepped closer to her and kissed her forehead tenderly, closing his eyes for a moment. "Chloe, there's something I'd like to run by you." His voice was quiet.

"Okay?" she asked quietly, looking up at him when he pulled back.

 

Oliver gazed at her intently. "I've been thinking. There's a domestic violence program a few blocks from here. They have people you could talk to."

Chloe paused for a second and shook her head, "no, I'm fine."

He drew in a breath and let it out slowly. "Just...think about it? You don't have to decide now."

She looked at him and nodded, but she already knew she wouldn't change her mind. She wasn't going to talk about it with anyone, she was going to deal and move on.

He watched her for a moment, then nodded slightly, as well. "All right."

"Lo is waiting," she told him, forcing a smile on her lips and that felt natural, easy, easier than it should be.

And not a bit sincere. He knew about pretending because he'd been doing it for years. For a lot different reasons, but he still knew. He held her gaze, sadness tugging at him. Wordlessly he kissed her forehead again, and took her by the hand. "Come on then."

Chloe sighed softly and relaxed slightly, holding on to his hand and walking with him toward the living room. Just holding his hand made her feel instantly better, she didn't know what it was about the small gesture, but it helped her feel support and security.

He needed to find a way to get through to her. A way to help her. He hadn't saved her in time. And while Lex was gone, he was still doing his best to ruin her. And Oliver needed to figure out how to get rid of a ghost before it was too late.


	10. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

 

Oliver had decided that what Chloe needed was not to stay cooped up in the clock tower so much. She'd been trapped, quite literally, in the mansion for months. So he'd insisted that they go out for dinner, just the two of them. And they took the back, private elevator to avoid the hoard of press that were still milling around his building like zombies. He'd waved at them cheerfully as he sped past them in his orange car, smirking at their obvious surprise.

And then he'd taken her to the nicest Italian restaurant in Metropolis. And just to ensure there was no press around, he'd rented the entire place for the evening. It had been just the two of them and the restaurant staff. Lois was out of town covering a story, and wasn't expected back for at least a few more days. He knew she and Chloe were planning to start apartment hunting soon and figured that would happen whenever the older cousin returned to the city.

"I'll just pay and we can go," Oliver told her after dinner, smiling faintly. She seemed a little more relaxed, but he could still see the tension in her shoulders, the on-guard expression that never quite left her face anymore. He still needed to figure out how to help get rid of some of the anxiety.

"Okay," Chloe smiled a little, she did feel better, it was nice to be outside and she really hoped Oliver didn't change his mind about them going away. A few days at the beach, away from people and away from the media sounded amazing. And she figured it would actually help her get over things a little faster.

She glanced outside and saw that the street was deserted so she smiled a little, "I'll step outside for a second, it doesn't look like we were followed."

 

"All right," he agreed with a nod, watching her head for the door. "I'll be right there."

With a deep breath, she pushed the door open. It was late, probably past ten and they were close enough to Downtown so there was some traffic on the streets, but not a lot. It was nice to be outside, on her own, she actually felt relaxed for a full moment, then frowned when she realized a car had just pulled up in front of her. A black limo. Just like Lex's. She wanted to run back inside, to scream for Oliver, but her heart was beating so fast and all of the sudden, she felt like she couldn't breath. It couldn't be him.

And it wasn't.

But a tall man climbed out of the driver's seat of the limo and approached her before she even had a chance to react. "Mr. Luthor would like to have a word," he muttered, grabbing her arm and forcing her into the back of the car, shutting the door behind her and locking it.

Her eyes were wide and her vision was blurry, her stomach had turned and her hands turned into fists. The name, the limo. It wasn't until she was sitting inside that she managed to focus on the man that was sitting next to her. Not Lex. The other Luthor.

She didn't know if that was better or worse, she just hoped Oliver would notice she was gone soon enough.

 

"Drive," Lionel ordered the man who'd none-too-gently _helped_ her into the car. Then he rolled up the window for privacy as the car began to move down the street. He turned his gaze to her, his expression dark. "Mrs. Luthor."

"What do you want?" She snapped, eyes narrowing.

"To know what you've done with my son," he said, not the least bit bothered by her tone.

Chloe took a deep breath and sat up, slowly managing to make herself calm down, "what _I_ have done to your son? Are you sure you don't mean what _he_ did to _me_?"

"I'm quite certain I asked the question I expect an answer to," he responded evenly, staring at her intently.

"I'm sure you read my cousin's article. That is all I know." She said firmly, holding his gaze.

Lionel leaned toward her a little. "You and I both know that's _never_ all you know."

Chloe didn't move, just started at him. Lionel didn't have anything on her, that's why he was asking questions, "it's all I know, _Lionel_."

"I don't believe you," he said bluntly.

"I don't care," she said sharply.

"You should," Lionel answered, studying her intensely.

"Why would I?" Chloe narrowed her eyes a little, she was scared, of course, but she wasn't going to let it show. She was gonna go up against him for as long as she could. One Luthor was dead, killing the elder one wouldn't be so hard.

"Because regardless of the condition of our relationship, Lex is my son," he said coldly. "Any threat to him is a threat to me. And you, Mrs. _Luthor_ , are certainly a threat."

" _I_ am a threat?" Chloe raised an eyebrow, a cold smile on her lips. Maybe the new last name suited her in this particular situation, " _your son_ abused me, tortured me, _raped_ me repeatedly, all I ever did was tell my story, _Lionel_ ," she refused to show him any kind of respect, "if you wanna find him, ask the police, they probably have more leads than I do."

He knocked lightly on the window separating them from the driver and the car pulled to a stop. "I won't allow you to continue dragging this name through the perpetual mud." He leaned in closer to her. "You and I both know you have a tendency to bring things on your own head and I've little doubt that's exactly what happened in this unfortunate situation you've found yourself in."

Chloe didn't waste time and reached for the door handle as soon as the car stopped, but still she leaned in and stared at him, "I've told you all I know and I will give the press whatever information I feel like," she smirked a little, "I would worry less about finding Lex and more about the stock market, LuthorCorp's shares keep dropping, Lionel. I would hate for you to end up where you started, back in Suicide Slums."

He smirked back at her, well aware that the doors were still locked. "I would have thought you'd learned your lesson from threatening me the first time," he warned softly, leaning in closer and invading her space. "I'd certainly hate to have to give you a crash course down memory lane, with no one to protect you, including my son."

"I have learned to protect myself," she held his gaze and it was mostly true. She could block everything out and nothing would hurt her, which was why her smirk grew a little, "and don't lie to yourself, Lex doesn't have enough humanity and compassion in him to protect me from anything, not even you."

 

"Then apparently he didn't find you an adequate _toy_ ," he responded. "Perhaps if it were Miss Lang in question..."

Chloe just rolled her eyes, "well I believe Lana is taken now and I'm not weak enough for him to break me like he wished to, so he just might have to find himself a brand new toy." She was proud of herself for sounding convincing when she spoke of Lex's future. He would never get that chance, he would never be able to hurt anyone else. Thanks to Oliver.

Lionel reached out and put a hand on her shoulder wordlessly.

It took all of her, but she managed not to flinch or pull away, she glanced down at his hand then back at him.

"You're a very good actress. But I'm not buying it," he informed her.

Before she had a chance to respond, the back passenger side window shattered and he was forcefully dragged from the car, an arm tight around his neck.

Chloe covered her face with her arm to block herself from the glass, her eyes wide for a second until she noticed Oliver standing outside and without wasting time, she pushed her way out of the car.

 

Oliver slammed Lionel up against the brick wall of the alley the driver had parked the car in, his eyes dark with fury.

"Let him go," Chloe told Oliver, walking up to them and holding on to Oliver's arm.

"Come near her again and you'll regret it," he said harshly, his face inches away from Lionel's.

Lionel simply stood up straight and smirked, looking between the two then at Chloe, "you truly are a Luthor, but next time you call your dogs on me, I suggest you choose them better."

Oliver's eyes narrowed and without warning, he slammed his fist into Lionel's face, smirking in satisfaction as the man stumbled backwards, blood seeping from his mouth. He glanced at Chloe. "You ready to get out of here?"

Chloe watched Lionel for a second then nodded, "yeah."

He glared at Lionel a moment longer, then led her out of the alley, his jaw tight.

She stared at the driver, who walked around the car to pick up Lionel, mostly to see if he looked familiar, but when he didn't, she continued walking with Oliver, looking around the block to figure out how far from the restaurant they were.

"Are you all right?" His voice was quiet, his eyes intense as he stopped walking, turning to look at her.

"Yeah, I'm fine, we'll talk in the car," she told him, reaching for his hand and pulling him toward the restaurant, she didn't want anyone overhearing their conversation.

Oliver tightened his fingers around hers, leading her to the car a couple blocks away. He unlocked the door and opened it for her.

She got inside and buckled her seatbealt when took a deep breath as she waited for him to get back in the car.

He climbed into the driver's seat, and started the engine, glancing at her sideways. "You didn't get cut did you?" There was a hint of worry in his voice.

Chloe frowned a little, looking down at her hands then pulling down the mirror, raising an eyebrow as she saw a cut on her temple fading away, "a small one, but it's already healing."

Oliver winced anyway, his fingers tightening around the steering wheel.

"I'm fine," Chloe said, sighing deeply, "it will be gone before we get back," she figured it would be anyway.

He forced himself to take a deep breath and let it out slowly as he pulled the car away from the curb. "What did he say to you?"

Chloe looked at him for a second then reached for his hand, "he wanted to know where Lex is."

His jaw tightened once more even as she took his hand. He shouldn't have left her side, not when they were out in public so soon after everything had happened with Lex. Not when Lionel's whereabouts, up until that evening, had been unknown.

"You need to calm down." She told him, her voice even as she watched him.

"I am calm," he said just as evenly.

Chloe rolled her eyes and looked out of the window, sighing but staying quiet. She had to be more careful, she had to stay away from Lionel, but she wasn't too worried about him finding anything out. He couldn't, not with how they planned everything.

"We need to get out of here for awhile, Chloe." His voice was quiet.

She raised an eyebrow and considered him for a moment then nodded, "I agree."

"Where do you wanna go?" he asked.

"Somewhere no one will recognize either of us," she said quietly, staring ahead.

He curled his fingers around hers. "I know a place."

Chloe frowned slightly and glanced at him then nodded. "Okay."

"How do you feel about Italy?"

"They have newspapers in Italy," she pointed out, but her voice was still very even and she was still staring ahead.

"I own a villa there." He glanced at her sideways.

Chloe did glance at him at that and nodded a little, "okay."

"If you'd rather go somewhere else, that's fine, too, Chloe."

"I just wanna get out of here, I don't care where we go." She looked ahead again and took a deep breath.

 

Oliver fell silent at that, worry clouding his face once more.

After a long moment and another deep breath, she leaned back against the seat, "at least we know he doesn't know and Lionel won't go to the cops, all we have to worry about is him coming after one of us." Considering all the other possibilities, that was definitely a plus.

 

"If he does he'll end up right beside his son," he responded, his jaw tightening.

Chloe nodded, "that's what I was thinking. It shouldn't be as hard to get rid of Lionel."

It hadn't been hard to get rid of Lex, either. Not once he'd finally had the guts to go through with it.

She ran a hand through her hair as Oliver pulled into the garage, ducking her face as the flashes from the cameras hit the car. She really wanted to get out of there.

 

"I'll call my pilot tonight. We can be out of here by morning," he said quietly.

"What about Lois and my mom?"

"Lois won't be back for a few days still." He paused for a moment. "I can hire someone to come in and look after her. A private nurse."

"Will she be safe?" She asked quietly, looking down at her lap once Oliver parked.

"If you'd be more comfortable, I can have Dr. Hamilton come in."

"Yeah," she sighed deeply and sat up, opening the door, "I think that will be good."

"All right," he said quietly, watching her climb out of the car before doing the same. He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck.

Chloe waited until they were in the elevator and looked up at him, "thank you for dinner," despite of the past half hour or so, she had had a good time while they were out.

"You're welcome," he whispered, meeting her eyes.

"I had a good time," she told him quietly, holding his gaze, "and I know you put a lot of effort into it."

 

"You're worth it." He reached out and touched her face.

Chloe leaned into his touch and closed her eyes for a second before turning her head and pressing a soft kiss to his palm. She believed he believed that.

He stepped closer to her and pressed a light kiss to her forehead.

She placed her hands on his sides, her fingers curling over his shirt as she held on to him then turned her head and kissed his cheek gently.

 

The breath hitched in his throat at the feel of her lips against his skin and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to turn his head just slightly and press his mouth to hers.

Chloe leaned her head against his shoulder, still holding on to his shirt, "I guess we should pack tonight," she whispered, closing her eyes again. The boys had helped her bring her clothes and things that were in the mansion and although she still had a lot of it at the Talon apartment, she figured she'd be okay.

Oliver's arms went around her as soon as she leaned her head against him. "Okay," he whispered back, kissing her temple.

She held on to him too, hugging him tightly and turning her face for him a little, "you helped me again," she mumbled quietly.

He closed his eyes, holding her tightly in return. "Always will," he murmured.

Chloe lifted her head and kissed his cheek again, she didn't know if this was about thanking him, about comforting herself or both. She just wanted to stay close to him and not have to move.

Oliver swallowed hard, lifting his hand to stroke her hair back from her face.

She leaned into his touch and pulled her head back to look up at him.

He gazed at her intently, falling silent.

Slowly, she pulled her hand from around him and lifted her hand to cup his cheek, searching his eyes as she held his gaze.

He let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, searching her eyes, too. "We're okay," he whispered, reaching up and covering her hand with his own.

"I know," she told him, her thumb brushing over his cheek.

 

Oliver held her gaze, unconsciously shifting a little closer to her.

Chloe moved closer too, but she was aware of her actions. She'd been wanting to kiss him since that night in the plane and she didn't know if this was the best time, for either of them, but she didn't know when a good time _would_ be, so she leaned in a little further, holding his gaze as long as she could then pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

He closed his eyes, drawing in a shaky breath. "Chloe," he whispered.

She pulled back, her eyes big as she looked up at him. She thought... he was okay with it. He wasn't pulling away, he was leaning closer.

"I care about you," he whispered, reluctantly opening his eyes to look at her once more. "And I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss you right now." He paused.

"But," she pulled back, dropping her hands to her sides.

"But I don't want to hurt you, either." He lifted a hand to her cheek once more.

"I just..." she paused, "you feel safe," she told him quietly, looking down, "I just want to be close to you."

Oliver kissed her forehead. "Chloe, we can be close without it being anything you're not ready for," he said quietly. "If you want me to hold you? I can do that."

She pursed her lips together and nodded, swallowing hard but still not looking at him.

 

"Chloe. Look at me." His voice was very soft.

It took her a long moment but she did, her eyes teary as she watched him carefully. She was just afraid that she had messed something up, she needed him.

He leaned in and kissed her very softly on the lips. "When you're ready," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers.

She closed her eyes, tears running down her cheek as she nodded just slightly and wrapped her arms around him again.

Oliver pulled her closer, closing his eyes, as well. A moment later the elevator finally stopped at the top floor, but he didn't move away from her. Simply held on tight.

Chloe leaned her head on his shoulder and just held on to him for a very long time. She wasn't sure how long it had been, but she finally opened her eyes and looked over at the door, only then realizing where they were, "we're here," she murmured, but didn't let go of him.

He nodded slightly but didn't pull away either. "I know," he murmured back.

She sighed softly and closed her eyes again, turning her head and hiding it against his chest.

"Come on," he whispered, backing off the elevator while keeping his arms around her.

She walked with him, careful not to step on his toes as she did. She didn't feel rejected by him, she knew he was worried about her, and she knew he was right.

He kissed her forehead. "Where do you want to sleep tonight?" he asked softly.

Chloe looked up at him for a second, holding his gaze then sighing softly, "your room, if you don't mind."

"I don't mind," he assured her. Frankly he slept better when she was close anyway. He didn't know if it was because he'd spent so many sleepless nights up worried about her and what was happening when she was with Lex, or if it was because he knew _she_ tended to rest better when she was near him. Maybe it was both.

"Thank you," she told him once more, tightening her arms around him.

"You're welcome." He rested his head atop hers.


	11. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

They arrived in Tuscany late the next night. Both of them had napped on the jet. It had been years since he'd been to [the villa](http://www.italianvillas.com/villa.aspx?villa=107570), and he was relieved that everything seemed to be in working order: water and electricity and phones. It wouldn't have been a fun vacation if they'd had to do without electricity or water.

"So here we are," he told her with a soft smile as he stepped into the living room area, toeing off his shoes. "I know it doesn't look like much right now, but the view will be better in the morning when the sun's up."

Chloe looked around for a moment, she couldn't see outside since it was pitch black, but the drive from the airport had taken almost two hours so she knew they were in the middle of nowhere. Which was exactly where she wanted to be. She turned to him and smiled softly, "it looks really nice, cozy."

"Good," he said with a soft smile, setting their bags down on the floor. "Make yourself at home, Chloe."

"Thank you," she nodded, taking her shoes off too and walking around slowly, looking around the house, "when was the last time you were here?"

He thought for a moment. "Three, four years ago, I think?" He smiled a bit, shrugging out of his light jacket. "It's been awhile."

"Did you used to come here more often than that?" She asked as she looked out of one of the windows, even though she couldn't see much, she could see the outline of a pool.

"Maybe once a year." He paused. "It belonged to my parents." He glanced around, drawing in a breath. "We came here a lot when I was a kid."

Chloe watched him silently for a second and nodded a little, walking back to where he was, "sounds like a nice place to spend time at as a kid."

 

Oliver met her eyes and held her gaze, a soft smile on his lips. "It was," he said quietly.

"Maybe you can tell me more about it." She suggested, watching him.

"Sure. What do you wanna know?" He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Chloe watched him closely, leaning into his touch a little, she had kind of kissed him just the previous night, after their dinner and after Lionel's unexpected 'visit' and although she wasn't ready for it, he understood it, even when she herself didn't really know what she felt or what she was thinking, he knew. "Whatever you want to talk about, I wanna hear more about your family."

 

He was quiet for a moment, holding her gaze. "Well, my dad was away a lot," he said quietly. "On business for Queen Industries. Sometimes my mom went with him, but not always." He reached down and took her hand in his. "He actually bought me my first bow. He'd been away, out of the country for about a month. I'd only talked to him on the phone a couple of times. I was kind of mad at him for not coming home sooner," he admitted.

"I'm sure the bow made you forget all about it at the time?" She asked quietly, a tiny smile on her face as she linked her fingers through his.

A smile tugged at his lips. "Basically. This probably won't come as a surprise to you, but my childhood hero was Robin Hood."

"Not really a surprise, no," she smiled, leaning sideways against the wall and watching him, "mine is a toss up between Tinkerbell and April O'Neil."

Oliver grinned at that. "Tinkerbell surprises me."

"Why?" She cocked her head a little, raising her eyebrows.

"I don't know. You've never struck me as the kind of woman who'd believe in fairies," he teased.

"I liked her attitude," she explained, smiling a little, "when I was little, I refused to wear any costumes but my Tinkerbell one, my dad had to keep replacing them because I kept growing."

 

His eyes softened even as his smile grew. "Little Chloe Sullivan darting around in a Tinkerbell costume." He tilted his head to one side, watching her. "Yeah. Actually, I can see it." He imagined her chasing a young Lois Lane around in a frilly dress, blonde hair flying behind her, a bright, sunshine smile on her face.

"Well, I'm sure it wasn't all that different from little Oliver Queen, running around in his archer costume, with his bow," she teased a little, a tiny smile on her face, "I would probably just have assumed you were Peter Pan."

He laughed softly. "Probably," he agreed. "Although I don't remember Peter Pan carrying around a bow and arrow."

"No, he carried a sword," she told him, looking down and smiling a little, "but that doesn't matter when you're three."

"I bet you were the prettiest Tinkerbell around," he said softly, brushing his thumb lightly over her cheek.

She raised her eyebrows a little and looked up at him, smiling slightly more, "I don't have to try hard to picture you in your costume."

Oliver grinned. "Because you've seen me in the one I wear now."

"Exactly," she squeezed his hand, her eyes still on him.

"The boy who never grew up," he teased.

"Robin Hood isn't Peter Pan, I'm old enough to tell the difference," she told him quietly, smiling and squeezing his hand.

 

Oliver watched her carefully. "What is the difference?" he asked softly.

"Peter Pan has his own team of helpers, but he's in Neverland because he's afraid to grow up and he wants the others to stay there with him, it's kind of selfish," she smiled a little, holding his gaze, "Robin Hood gives up everything he has in the name of justice and what he believes in."

"Not everything," he told her, shaking his head.

"No," she agreed, "but that makes him human."

Oliver leaned in and dropped a kiss to her forehead. "Robin Hood had his band of merry men and Lady Marian to keep him human." His voice was soft.

She leaned closer to him and nodded a little, squeezing his hand and closing her eyes.

He slid his arms around her, closing his eyes, too. Come hell or high water, he wouldn't let anything else happen to her.

"Are you tired?" She asked him quietly, wrapping her arms around him too.

"I could rest. What about you?" he asked softly.

"Yeah," she agreed, despite the napping on the plane, it had still been a long night and a long trip. "I guess exploring will have to wait until the morning."

"You'll be able to see things better then anyway," he assured her.

"I know," she shrugged a little and smiled slightly, "the idea of being outside sounds nice, though."

"It's beautiful here this time of year," he said, resting his head atop hers.

 

"I'm sure it is, and it shouldn't be too hot, this was a good idea." She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, hugging him a little tighter.

"I think so, too." Oliver just hoped maybe being away from the rest of the world would help her begin to really heal.

Chloe pulled back and looked up at him after a second, "we should get our stuff to the bedroom." She had no doubt they had more than one at that place, but unless he was opposed to it, she didn't want to sleep alone. She slept so much better with him.

"Sounds good." He smiled softly. "There are four rooms. You can pick us out whichever one you like best. Doesn't matter to me."

She relaxed a little at his wording, "which one is the most comfortable?" She asked him, raising one eyebrow a little.

"The one that overlooks the hillside," he told her. "Up the stairs, third door on the right."

"That's the one, then," she told him, smiling softly and reluctantly pulling back, but reaching for his hand, "show me?"

He reached down and grabbed their bags, hefting them onto his shoulder and taking her hand. "Sure thing, Sidekick." He led her up the steps.

"I could carry something, you know?" She pointed out, probably for the 20th time since they left Metropolis.

"And allow my male pride to be wounded? I think not." He grinned.

"I think you've done a good enough job with proving yourself by carrying that all the way from the car." She raised an eyebrow as they made their way to the top of the stairs. Although neither of them had brought a lot of things, her bag was still pretty heavy.

"All fifteen feet from the car," he teased.

"It was steep," she pointed out, "not as steep as these stairs, but still."

Oliver grinned. "Yeah, well, I'm a tough guy. I can handle steep."

"Clearly," she gave him a look, "considering all those buildings you climb and jump off of," she paused a little as they reached the top of the stairs and started ahead of him, looking around into all the rooms, it was much bigger than it looked from the outside, but every corner of it felt comfortable and cozy, it was definitely a nice, family place.

"Oh that? All in a day's work," he joked, flipping on the lights to the bedroom. He set their baggage down by the closet and pulled the plastic covers off the furniture in the room. Folding the coverings and setting them in a chair in the corner, Oliver moved over and unlocked one of the windows, opening it a crack for some fresh air.

"Oh, _I_ know." She smiled a little then took a deep breath, walking over to the window and looking outside, "the air is different here."

"Fresher," he said with a nod.

"Yeah," she agreed, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, "probably because we're higher up."

Oliver nodded again. "Closer to the sun." He grinned.

She sighed softly and looked at him for a moment then looked back out, "I guess so..."

He watched her for a moment, then moved over to stand behind her. He rested his hands on her shoulders, brushing some of her hair out of the way as he pressed his thumbs gently against the tight muscles there. "You're incredibly tense," he murmured, kissing the back of her head. "Sit down," he said softly, nodding toward the chair.

Chloe tensed when he moved behind her but closed her eyes and let her breath out slowly, it was just Oliver. She nodded a little and walked over to the chair, sitting down.

He drew in a breath and moved behind her once more, starting to gently massage her neck and shoulders. "If I do anything that hurts, just tell me," he whispered, knowing it took a great amount of trust to allow him so close after what she'd been through. Frankly it was humbling.

"Okay," she whispered, closing her eyes and willing herself to relax, but her stomach was turning, and she shifted uncomfortably. It wasn't the fact that he was touching her that bothered her, but the fact that she couldn't see him.

Oliver paused as she shifted positions. "I've actually taken a couple of courses in massage therapy," he told her. "Well, not official ones. But I dated a massuese when I was 21." His voice was light.

She was trying hard to tell herself that it was Oliver and that she knew he would never hurt her, but it wasn't working. She heard him talking but she couldn't make sense of what he was saying, so she stood quickly and wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Okay," he said without hesitation, nodding a little. "It's all right." He watched her intently, his stomach clenching.

Chloe nodded, taking a deep breath and blinking a couple of times as her vision got blurry with tears, "I'll... go change." She told him quietly as she reached for her bag.

"Hey." His voice was soft.

She paused and pursed her lips together, glancing at him.

 

"It really is okay, Chloe," he whispered.

Nodding slightly, she took a deep breath. She knew he was trying, but she didn't feel okay. "I need a shower," she told him then grabbed her bag and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind herself.

 

Oliver watched her go and swallowed hard, his heart sinking. Sighing softly, he sat down on the edge of the bed, rubbing his hands over his face tiredly. He'd thought maybe bringing her there would make a real difference, but now he was starting to have doubts.

He shook the thought away. They hadn't even been to the villa for a full hour yet. She'd been through months of hell. If space was what she needed, he wasn't going to push.

Chloe took her time in the shower. She had tried her best to control herself and not to freak out and hurt his feelings, but it hadn't mattered, she still hadn't been able to relax and let him help her and she hated that. Because Oliver would never hurt her and because every time she freaked out, Lex won. If he was around, he would have enjoyed watching her like that.

She rubbed her hands over her heads and looked at herself in the mirror for a moment. She couldn't let him control her anymore.

Slowly, she opened the door and looked out into the bedroom, hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings or made him feel like she didn't want him around.

 

Oliver had just stepped back into the room, carrying two glasses of iced tea. "We'll have to go to town sometime tomorrow for food," he said with a smile, sitting on the edge of the bed and setting his glass down, holding the other out to her. He was glad he'd thought to pack a few things for the first night, though.

Chloe took the glass and nodded a little, watching him closely, "thanks."

 

"You're welcome. I put extra sugar in it. I figured with as much sugar as you put in your coffee you'd take your tea the same." He grinned.

"Yeah," she smiled a little and sipped on it, raising her eyebrows, "it's really good."

His grin brightened. "Good."

"What kind of tea is it?" She asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed.

 

"Lemon," he told her. He stretched his arms over his head and yawned. "I'm gonna take a quick shower myself." He leaned over and kissed her cheek lightly, hoping the gesture would assure her he wasn't upset.

It helped and she relaxed a little, looking up at him when he pulled away, "okay."

 

Oliver smiled at her. "Be back in a bit." He grabbed his bag and headed into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

She took a deep breath then let it out slowly, sipping on the tea and looking down at her glass. She didn't understand why Oliver was so incredibly understanding and so amazing to her, but she was glad to have that kind of support.

He returned a few minutes later, wearing a green t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants. "That's better." He smiled and sat down beside her once more.

Chloe hadn't moved, but she glanced at him and smiled a little, "it was a long flight."

"Yes, it was. And even though we slept for most of it, somehow sleeping on a jet's just not that prone to giving you quality sleep." He picked up his glass of tea and took a long drink before setting it down once more.

She was almost done with her tea, so she took a long sip and finished it, "yeah, it's restless sleep. What time is it here anyway?"

He reached over to the nightstand and picked up his cell phone, flipping to the world clock feature. "A little after midnight."

"I guess we should get some rest while it's still night."

He nodded his agreement, rising to his feet to pull the covers back.

She stood too, setting her glass down and helping him with the covers silently.

 

Oliver glanced at her sideways. "Ladies first," he said softly.

Chloe got into the bed and looked over at him, sighing deeply as she relaxed against the pillow, "this is nice."

He smiled and slid under the covers beside her, flipping the light off on the way. "Yeah," he agreed, turning on his side to face her.

She turned to face him and reached over, taking his hand in hers, "sorry I freaked out on you again," she knew he wasn't mad, but she had to say it. It was just easier to do it when the lights were off.

 

"It's all right, Chloe," he said softly, lacing his fingers through hers and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I can't wait for this to be over," she murmured, hugging his arm with her free hand.

 

He gazed at her in the darkness of the room. "It's gonna take time," he said gently, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. "You went through a lot."

"I know," she said quietly, curling up a little more, "but I feel like every time I freak out like that, he wins."

Oliver was quiet for a moment, rubbing his thumb lightly over her hand. "He didn't win anything," he whispered. "You're still here, Chloe. And we will get through this."

"Promise?" She asked quietly, opening her eyes and looking at him, even though she could barely see him in the darkness.

"I promise," he said, gazing back at her.

"Okay," she said quietly, leaning in, just a little closer to him and closing her eyes.

"You're gonna be okay." He kissed her forehead softly. "And I'll be here with you."

She sighed and let go of his hand, wrapping her arm around him instead. She hoped he was right.


	12. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

When Chloe woke up next morning, she was curled up against Oliver's side, his warm arms were both wrapped around her and as she opened her eyes a little, she could see the window that they had left open the previous nice, the sun was shining brightly and there was a soft breeze coming into the room. She could heard birds in the distance but other than that, she didn't hear _anything_ else.

It was the most peaceful she had felt in a very long time.

With a deep breath, she closed her eyes again and just focused on all of her surroundings for a long moment, relaxing even more than she already was and hoping this lasted longer than a few moments.

 

Oliver felt her shift ever-so-slightly and he pressed a tender kiss to her forehead, but other than that, remained still, not eager to leave the comfortable position they were in, either.

Chloe didn't move , but she smiled a little when he kissed her head and opened her eyes to look up at him.

"Morning," he whispered, smiling softly. "How'd you sleep?" It was a question he didn't really need to ask. She obviously hadn't woken up with a nightmare, and in fact, he was pretty sure she hadn't woken up all night.

"Really well," she admitted quietly, looking down then up at him again with a soft smile, "you?"

 

"Me too," he told her, meeting her eyes.

She smiled a little more and held his gaze for a moment then sighed deeply, "this bed is amazing," and it was incredibly comfortable, but she knew it wasn't all about the bed.

He chuckled softly, resting his forehead against hers once more. "It is pretty comfy," he agreed.

Chloe shifted a little closer to him and nodded, closing her eyes, "I can't hear anything except for birds."

"It's definitely a change from the big city, huh?" He smiled softly, closing his eyes again, as well.

"Yeah... even from Smallville," she said quietly, "dad and I could always hear the neighbors."

He nodded slightly. "One of the things I remember best about this place is the quiet. Good to know it still holds true. It's nice that some things don't change."

"Has this place changed at all since you were little?"

 

"Not much from what I can tell so far," he told her, yawning.

She smiled a little and looked at him for a long moment, clearly, this place meant a lot to him, it reminded him of his family and his childhood and he had chosen to share it with her, "thank you for bringing me here," she told him quietly but sincerely.

Oliver opened his eyes to look at her once more. "You're welcome," he said just as sincerely, reaching a hand up to tuck some hair behind her ear.

Chloe leaned into his touch and curled into him a little more, closing her eyes.

He trailed his fingertips gently over her face, watching her as she relaxed. She definitely seemed calmer than she had in a long time.

She sighed deeply, opening her eyes to look at him again, she never imagined Oliver would be so physically affectionate, but he was, and he was with _her_ and she was so incredibly grateful for him.

 

It was something very, very few knew about him, because he didn't let most people close enough to get to know him that well. But he'd had feelings developing for Chloe for a long time now, and considering what Lex had put her through, he knew she needed to be reminded that someone could touch her without any intention of harming her. He smiled softly at her, rubbing his thumb lightly over her cheek.

Chloe rubbed her hand over his back slowly and watched him, part of her wanted to kiss him and be closer to him than she already was, but a bigger part of her knew he was right and that she wasn't ready for anything more than this and this was everything she needed. It was comforting, it was relaxing, but most of all, it was completely safe.

"You wanna go back to sleep?" he murmured, keeping his eyes on her, as well.

"No, I'm okay, but you can if you want to," she whispered softly, watching him.

"I'm all right, too." He smiled a bit.

"I'm kinda hungry," she admitted quietly, taking a deep breath and looking at him, "we have to go into town and pick up food, right?"

"Yeah, we do," he said with a nod, kissing her forehead. "Guess we should get up and get dressed?"

"Yeah," she agreed, hugging him a little more before reluctantly pulling back and laying on her back.

Oliver paused for a moment, watching her and then sitting up in bed. "Would you be more comfortable staying here?" he asked softly.

"No, I wanna see the town," she told him, sitting up too, it was her first trip to Europe after all, she should see some of it, "but I hope your Italian is better than mine."

He grinned, glancing at her over his shoulder. "Quanto buono è il vostro italiano?"

She grinned back at him and raised her eyebrows, "clearly, you speak it, all I can say back to you is 'buon giorno' and 'mamma mia'," she did play Super Mario Bros. with Lois when she was little, after all.

He chuckled in response. "It's a start," he teased.

Shrugging a little, she smiled, "I'll go change," she told him, "do you need to use the bathroom before I go in?" She was sure there were more bathrooms in the house, but she wanted to ask, just in case.

 

"I'm good," he assured her, rising to his feet and heading for the closet.

She nodded and walked in, she knew he wouldn't come into the bathroom while she was in there, but she couldn't stop herself from locking the door. She figured it would take her a while until she was ready for that. But she wasn't going to give it that much thought, she was relaxed and she was in a wonderful place with one of the few people she trusted one hundred percent. She was going to enjoy herself.

* * *

They had spent almost two hours in town. Instead of just grocery shopping, he'd convinced her to eat at a little inn, and then gotten enough groceries to last for several days if they didn't feel like leaving the villa. He'd told her to make herself at home while he put the groceries away, and when he was done, he found her standing out by the pool. "You feel like swimming?" he asked as he stepped outside, closing the sliding glass door behind him.

"I didn't bring anything to swim in," she told him, glancing at him as she dipped her toes into the water.

He nodded a little, moving to sit down at the edge of the pool and slipping his sandels off. "Probably not quite warm enough for it anyway." He slid his feet into the water.

"Probably not," she agreed, looking down at him for a moment and sitting down next to, her legs in the water, "it's not too cold."

Oliver glanced at her sideways and smiled. "Well, could always just change into a t-shirt and shorts if you want to jump in."

"Maybe," she smiled a little at him and reached over to take his hand, even though she felt safe, she liked holding his hand. It had become something she just did without giving it much thought, "this is really pretty."

He laced his fingers through hers and nodded, glancing around. "Yeah, it is, isn't it?" His voice was soft. "I forgot how nice it was here."

"Yeah, it looks like a postcard," she told him quietly, looking over the pool and at the mountains. "I couldn't imagine coming here when I was a kid though, especially with Lois and Lucy, we would destroy every peaceful and relaxing thing about the place."

Oliver grinned at her. "The whole Sullivan-Lane clan running around. I think I'd like to see that." He had never met Lucy Lane, but he'd certainly heard enough about her.

Chloe smiled at him as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eyes, "I think you would have tried to shoot us with you toy arrows when we were kids, three loud, screaming girls?"

He chuckled. "That would have depended," he told her.

"On what?" She asked curiously.

 

"Well, if you supported the Sheriff of Nottingham, of course." He smirked.

Chloe actually laughed softly at that, smiling at him and squeezing his hand, "of course, well, Robin Hood would have Tinkerbell's support because he would remind her of Peter Pan."

 

"Naturally." He grinned at her, glad to hear the soft laughter. It was something he wasn't used to hearing.

She sighed deeply and rested her cheek on his shoulder, a soft smile on her lips, "that would have been nice," she told him quietly.

 

He laid his head against hers. "Yeah, it would have been," he said just as quietly. He hadn't really had many friends growing up, and after his parents had died, the number had grown even smaller. He tried to imagine what it would have been like, to grow up around Chloe and Lois and Lucy. He wondered if they would have been friends back then.

"I wonder how it would have been," she mused quietly, her thoughts along the same lines as his, she was pretty sure her dad would have done his best to take care of Oliver after his parents passed away, she squeezed his hand unconsciously, and she would have too, it's what they did with Lois and to a degree, Lucy, when Aunt Ella passed away.

"Me too," he admitted, closing his eyes and sliding his arm around her.

"I think we would have gotten along," she told him, shifting and wrapping her arms around him too, turning her head and pressing her nose to his jaw.

Oliver drew in a breath, pulliing her closer to him and resting his forehead against hers. "Probably would have been really good friends," he murmured.

She reached a hand to cup his cheek and nodded slightly, "I think so too," she whispered, "I wish it had been that way."

He met her gaze and held it. "Maybe we didn't meet until later for a reason."

She held his gaze back, pursing her lips together for a moment, "maybe you are right," she agreed quietly and looked away before looking at him again, "you believe in destiny?"

He paused at that. "Sometimes. I waver back and forth on that one," he confessed.

"I never believed in it," she admitted quietly, running her thumb over his cheek and looking at him, but mostly lost in thoughts, "until recently."

Oliver's eyebrows furrowed a little. He wasn't sure what that meant.

Chloe didn't explain. She just knew that there was no way that everything that had happened was coincidental. It wasn't coincidental that Lex had helped them set up the perfect crime, the perfect _murder_. _His_ murder. It had all happened for a reason and in the end, it had worked out perfectly. Her eyes grew distant as a tiny smile appeared on her lips.

It was all for a reason and it was _over_.

He watched her for a moment, feeling vaguely unsettled but not entirely sure why.

She laid her head on his shoulder again and adjusted slightly, turning back to look at the mountains.

Oliver pressed a kiss to the top of her head and gazed off into the distance as well, a comfortable silence falling between them.


	13. Better Late Than... (13/15)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/949221.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/952630.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/956376.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/959895.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/962051.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/967213.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/970627.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/973581.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/979672.html) \-- [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/983674.html) \-- [Eleven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/986636.html) \-- [Twelve](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/989197.html)

 

Chloe felt like things had moved a lot quicker than they had. Between everything that had been published after her interview with Lois, the news about what kind of man Lex actually was, the little trails they had been leaving of 'Lex' withdrawing money from various parts of the world, thanks to Bart, things weren't looking good to LuthorCorp and all of it's subsidiaries.

Despite his best efforts, Lionel Luthor hadn't been able to take control of the company anymore, since Lex had removed any power from his father before he died. Which meant that the investors and the stock holders were less than pleased, which also meant that the board was desperate. Which was why Lex had been declared dead, for business purposes, just three months after he _went missing_.

And that was why Chloe, and at her request, Oliver, had gone to the reading of the will, which had happened behind closed doors, but Chloe knew would be all over the media within hours. Lex had completely removed his father from it, and in the event of his death, he wished the board to take over LuthorCorp and all of his businesses. However, since there had been no prenup agreement and Chloe had never annulled the wedding, by law, Mrs. Luthor now owned _everything_ Lex Luthor had ever made for himself, or had stolen from others.

Those were the best news she had heard since the confirmation from Bart that Lex was, in fact, dead.

With her hand clutching Oliver's, they made their way out of the building and into the waiting car, sunglasses protecting her eyes from the flashes of the cameras all around them, security guards protecting them from the screaming reporters, but Chloe didn't seem bothered by any of it, as soon as they got into the car, she sighed deeply and smiled slightly to herself. There was some justice after all.

Oliver sat beside her in the back of the car, watching her intently. He could tell she was relieved by the news they had gotten, and truthfully, so was he. He'd been half afraid that Lex had left everything to either Lionel or some other beneficiary. But apparently the bastard had been too confident that he was safe and if anyone ended up dead, it would be Chloe rather than him.

"So tell me about the new place," he said quietly after the driver had gone around the mass of people trying to swamp the car.

She pulled her sunglasses out and rubbed her free hand over her face, before turning to look at him, she and Lois had just found a place a couple of days ago, it had taken a while, but she wanted something with enough space for all of them, including Oliver, but when they got the call about the reading of the will, they hadn't had time to focus on the condo, "it's big," she smiled softly, "I want you to see it, it's in that new building by the Planet, the one with the mirrored glasses, and it's a two story penthouse so Lo can have her own floor and I can have mine."

He smiled faintly, nodding. "Sounds nice," he said quietly. He knew it would be good for her to have her own place, and to have Lois so close, as well. The two cousins had grown even closer over the last couple of months, and Lois had begun working at the Daily Planet. The two women often worked together on stories, and he knew Chloe was showing Lois the ropes of real journalism.

Chloe was looking forward to having her own place. The building was brand new and between her and Lois, they owned a couple of beds, one couch and a coffee table, all of which were still at the Talon apartment, except for Lois' bed, which was at the General's house in Metropolis, so they still had to buy a lot of things and decorate, but Chloe should be closing with the apartment company sometime soon. After being a prisoner at the Luthor Mansion for all those months and now with having to hide at the Clock tower pretty much constantly because of the press, having her own place and having the freedom to do whatever she wanted with it felt like a big step.

The only thing that worried her about this whole thing was that Oliver might not be around as often, thanks to him, the nightmares had stopped and she had been sleeping through the night on most nights, but she had also been sleeping with him, in his protective arms every night and she wasn't sure how she would handle it if she had to sleep on her own again.

Catching sight of the troubled expression on her face, he reached out and gently rested a hand on her arm. "What is it?" he asked, shaking his head a little. He was so used to having her close, he wasn't looking forward to the sudden separation when she and Lois moved out of the clock tower, even though he knew it was what needed to happen to help her heal. She needed her own space, to be able to do what she wanted when she wanted without him hovering around and getting in her way. But right now she was still there with him and his ever-constant state of vigilance when it came to her and her well being was on high alert.

She wasn't surprised that he had noticed, he seemed to notice every little change in her mood lately, considering they had been spending so much time together, it shouldn't surprise her, "you'll still be around, right? After we move..." she asked quietly, looking down at her lap then up at him.

Somehow he wasn't terribly surprised they were _thinking_ about the same thing at the same time. It seemed to have been happening a lot lately. "Whenever you need me," he promised.

Chloe nodded a little and turned, kissing his cheek softly, "you can have your own room in there, if you want to," she had chosen a place with five bedrooms because she wanted him to have his own, because she wanted him to be around, because she _needed_ him to be around.

He smiled at her words and at the soft kiss. "I could just move in with you while I'm in Metropolis and let the boys have the clock tower when they're in town," he teased. Bart, AC and Vic had stuck a lot closer to Metropolis in the last couple of months, and had been around on a fairly regular basis. He'd been putting them up in a hotel because there just wasn't enough room at the clock tower with Chloe, Lois, Chloe's mom and him all staying there already.

"I wouldn't have a problem with that," she pulled back and looked up at him, not a hint of kidding in her expression as she watched him closely.

Oliver's gaze softened at the sincerity in her tone. "I know you wouldn't," he admitted, kissing her forehead.

She sighed softly and shifted closer, linking her arm with his and nodding a little, "if you are comfortable with it," she told him, pursing her lips together and looking out of the window, he had done so much already, she felt bad asking for more, but she couldn't stop herself, she didn't have to worry about what Oliver was going to think or if he was going to judge her, he had seen her at her worst already and she would be able to tell if she was asking him for something he wouldn't want to do.

He leaned his head against hers for a moment. "I'm always comfortable with you," he told her. Frankly he was glad she was asking him for what she needed. He knew asking for help was difficult for her, but they'd built a level of trust between them that allowed her to do just that. And that was something he considered both important to her healing, and also precious to him because trusting someone had always been difficult for both of them.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe smiled a little and hugged his arm to her. As long as he was around, she felt better, whenever she stared to freak out or when something started to bother her, she sat down next to him and held his hand and while part of her knew that wasn't healthy, to be so dependent of him, it was what helped and it was what she needed and as long as he didn't seem to mind, she wasn't going to think too much about it.

There was a long, comfortable silence, like so many they had between them, but eventually, she looked up at him, "I'll need help, with all this... LuthorCorp stuff." She had no idea what was going to happen next, but she had the feeling the board members would be chasing after her as soon as they heard about the will.

Oliver smiled a bit at that. "No problem," he assured her. "Consider me your new personal business adviser as long as you need it. And anything I can't figure out or we can't figure out together, we'll call _my_ personal business adviser."

She nodded slightly and took a deep breath, sitting up, "I want to go into LuthorCorp sometime soon and go through his office, see if I can find any and all 33.1 projects and have them all terminated immediately," it was something she had been wanting to do since she found out there was a possibility she would inherit everything Lex owned, "and I want everyone responsible for it fired and if we have enough evidence against them, I want them in jail."

He wasn't the least bit surprised by that announcement. "We'll make it happen," he assured her quietly.

Chloe nodded a little and took a deep breath, "and if he had anyone locked up in any of those facilities, I want to set up some kind of system to help them if they need it. Maybe some kind of rehab center for meteor freaks," she told him quietly, turning to look up at him.

"Infected," he corrected her, his voice softening. "Meteor infected. They're not freaks. And neither are you."

She looked over at him and nodded slightly, pursing her lips together, "yeah," she agreed quietly. She still wasn't comfortable with the fact that she had a meteor ability and she was still afraid that it could turn out for the worse, but considering it helped her so much while getting through everything with Lex, she had become a little more accepting of it.

Oliver lifted a hand to touch her cheek, gazing at her intently. "The idea of a rehab center is a good one," he assured her, searching her eyes.

Chloe held his gaze and nodded a little, concern in her eyes, "I just don't want them to think they don't have anyone who is willing to help them, if Lex has been keeping them in one of the facilities, they will be angry and I want to at least try to reach out for them before they can hurt anyone."

He nodded slightly, understanding what she meant. "I'll help out however I can." He figured this would be a good project for her to focus on, something positive and strengthening.

She bit down on her bottom lip and nodded a little, watching him for a long moment then smiling slightly, "I know."

He gazed back at her, leaning in and kissing her forehead once more, closing his eyes for a moment.

Chloe closed her eyes too and leaned into the kiss, sighing deeply and relaxing slightly. She was going to be able to at least fix some of Lex's wrongs, that felt like a good start.

* * *

"Chloe? This box isn't labeled. Any idea what's in it?" AC asked as he picked up a medium sized box from the U-haul they'd rented to help Chloe and Lois move into the new place.

She squinted a little and walked over to the box, frowning for a second then smiling slightly, "yeah, you can put that in the office, I'll find a place for it later."

"Sure thing," he told her with a grin, heading into the condo with the box.

"Want me to set your computer system up?" Victor asked as he hauled a box of equipment from the truck.

"I can't think of a better person to do it," Chloe told him, not even blinking at the continuous rush of air that was Bart picking up boxes and setting them inside kept on hitting her. Having them around definitely made moving a lot easier.

Oliver grinned at her as he picked up one of the larger boxes from the back of the truck. "With Impulse around you're gonna be settled in within an hour," he teased.

"I doubt it's going to take that long," she told Oliver and raised her eyebrows at the disappearing boxes before picking one up herself, "probably better to order those twenty pizzas now so they are here when we get done."

"Twenty-five," Bart said, stopping just long enough to grin at them before speeding away again.

Oliver smirked. "Maybe twenty-eight so the rest of us can actually eat too," he called after Bart, then kissed Chloe's temple before carrying the box inside the condo and heading up the stairs with it.

Lois raised her eyebrows as she watched the guys working, her gaze continously following AC in particular. "I think we should move every week," she said.

Chloe raised her eyebrows at her cousin and smirked knowingly, "or you could invite him to hang out on your floor of the penthouse?" She suggested.

She glanced over at Chloe, smirking back at her. "Don't tempt me."

"Why not?" Chloe asked lightly, smiling softly, "he's a good guy, and he's obviously handy to have around."

"In more ways than one, I bet," Lois resonded without thinking.

Shaking her head, Chloe took a deep breath and rolled her eyes a little at her cousin, "that's for you to find out, I'm taking this upstairs," she told Lois before starting inside the building.

Lois just grinned.

* * *

Oliver had settled himself in the room Chloe had chosen as her bedroom, and was working on putting her bed together. He heard quiet footsteps approaching and smiled without looking up. "So, AC and Lois, huh?" There was a hint of amusement in his tone.

Chloe raised her eyebrows and smiled a little, setting the box down on the floor and cutting the tape open with her keys, "you noticed it too, huh?"

He glanced up at her and smirked. "Hard to miss. Neither one of them is exactly subtle."

"No, I guess not," she smiled softly at him and shrugged, "they kinda dated a few years back, when we first met AC, but he was living in Florida at the time."

He nodded a little, meeting her eyes. "With any luck I'll have this put together soon so you'll have a place to sleep tonight," he teased, watching her for a moment.

Chloe watched him back and pursed her lips together, "does it bother you? Lois and AC, I mean."

His eyebrows furrowed a little and he shook his head. "No. It doesn't," he said honestly.

She stared at him for a moment then nodded a little before turning away and kneeling down on the floor to start unpacking the box she had just brought up. Things between her and Oliver were... weird. No, weird wasn't the right word, but since that night she kissed him, she felt like he had made her a silent promise to wait until she was ready for that and then they would see how things went, but they hadn't talked about it at all, and she hadn't had the courage to ask, but she had been thinking about it more and more lately.

He was her rock, that much was obvious. And she loved him, how could she not considering everything he had done for her? She also trusted him completely and she knew she could count on him to be there no matter what, but she didn't know what he was thinking when it came to _them_.

Between the question and the way she turned away, Oliver was pretty sure he knew what was on her mind. He watched her silently for a moment, then carefully set down the headboard he'd been assembling to her bed. "Chloe." His voice was soft.

"Yeah?" She answered lightly, even if she knew the tone in his voice and that he probably had read right through her. She placed the shoes she was unpacking by the closet door and looked at him over her shoulder.

Oliver gazed at her. "I'm not in love with _Lois_ ," he said very quietly. "I'm in love with her cousin. Just so we're clear."

Her eyes widened a little at that and she paused, staring at him for a long moment before standing up and turning to face him, she wanted to say something, to tell him she loved him too, but instead, she stepped closer and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.

He closed his eyes, returning the kiss tenderly as one hand lifted to cup her cheek.

She pulled back after a long moment and looked at him, smiling slightly as she searched his eyes.

Oliver smiled back at her softly, not looking away from her. "I love you, and I'll wait however long it takes for you to be ready for whatever the next step is." He kissed her forehead. "You're worth it."

Chloe wrapped her arms around him and smiled a little more, "I love you too," she told him quietly but sincerely, "and you have no idea how much it means to me that you're willing to wait until I'm... ready."

He searched her eyes, then leaned his forehead against hers. "You're an incredible woman," he murmured.

She closed her eyes as her vision got a little teary and wrapped her arms tighter around him, smiling softly and taking a deep breath, "I'm an incredibly _lucky_ woman," she told him in a whisper as she pressed her lips to his once more and for the first time in as far as she could remember, she actually meant her words.


	14. Better Late Than... (14/15)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).

Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html).  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

[One](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/949221.html) \-- [Two](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/952630.html) \-- [Three](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/956376.html) \-- [Four](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/959895.html) \-- [Five](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/962051.html) \-- [Six](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/967213.html) \-- [Seven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/970627.html) \-- [Eight](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/973581.html) \-- [Nine](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/979672.html) \-- [Ten](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/983674.html) \-- [Eleven](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/986636.html) \-- [Twelve](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/989197.html) \-- [Thirteen](http://community.livejournal.com/chlollie/992842.html)

Chloe's eyes narrowed as she focused on the task at hand, she whisked the pancake batter carefully, watching it as the lumps started to disapear and not stopping until everything looked perfectly smooth. She stopped and looked at it for a moment then raised her eyebrows, turning the bowl to Oliver, "okay, how does that look?"

"Ready to be dropped in the pan," he told her with a smile, leaning against the counter as he watched her work.

She cocked her head a little, looking between the batter and him, "don't you think we need more chocolate chips?"

"Only if you're trying to turn the batter chocolate," he teased.

"Well, there is _nothing_ wrong with that," she said sheepishly.

Oliver grinned at her. "Nothing wrong with OD'ing on chocolate pancake batter."

"Exactly," she handed him the bowl, "but you're the chef, so if you say we've got enough..."

He took it from her, leaning over and kissing her cheek before pouring the batter into the pan.

Chloe watched him as he started frying the batter, "how long before Lois smells it and runs upstairs?"

He chuckled. "Five minutes, tops," he stated with certainty.

"Well, unless AC spent the night again, then she might be distracted." She told him, picking up the whisker and taking some batter from it before licking it off of her finger.

"Seems like things between them are going pretty well," Oliver commented, glancing at her, unable to stifle a smile at her actions.

"It does," she agreed, smiling softly as she turned to put the whisker in the sink, "I can't believe this kitchen is actually being used."

He grinned. "Why do I get the feeling that's only true when I'm around?" he teased.

"I make coffee!" She defended herself, "and toasts..."

Oliver raised his eyebrows.

She grinned and shrugged, "I guess you will have to cook more often so the kitchen doesn't feel neglected."

"Well, I wouldn't want the _kitchen_ to feel like I wasn't paying enough attention to it," he said lightly.

"Now you know how to fix it," she told him, raising her eyebrows a little. She had been living in the new apartment for over a month already and although Oliver was spending a lot of time there with her, she was getting more comfortable with being on her own when he had something to do.

She had started putting together the foundation to help the meteor infected and she had been talking with J'onn a lot, because although she didn't agree to some kind of therapy, she didn't get much of a choice when it came to letting J'onn come by and talk to her and she knew he could read her mind, so she didn't even bother trying to hide anything and day after day, it was becoming easier to talk about it, with him, anyway.

Oliver met her eyes. "I like your kitchen better than I like mine," he teased.

"Well, you're welcome to it at anytime," she told him, smiling softly and stepping closer.

He nodded a little, reaching out and tucking some hair behind her ear.

She smiled a little more and leaned into his touch,holding her breath a little. Things between the two of them were changing too, their kisses and touches were lingering a little more, becoming a little more intimate and she found herself okay with that progress.

Oliver kissed the corner of her mouth tenderly, then pulled away to flip the pancakes. "I'm going to have to make a trip to Star City soon."

"Oh?" She raised her eyebrows, her stomach a little tighter all of the sudden.

"I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming with me," he said, flipping the pancakes and glancing at her sideways.

"Oh," she said again, letting out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She was okay with him being gone for a few hours, but she didn't know how well she would have handled not being able to see him for days, "how long are you planning on staying?"

"A week or so? There's some business I need to take care of at Q.I. headquarters," he told her. "I thought if you were interested I could show you around my city."

Her face softened at his words and she smiled, nodding a little, "I think that would be nice. I've never been to Star City before."

Oliver smiled back at her. "This weekend work okay for you?"

"Yeah, it should be okay. Lois won't be leaving town with her new job and Dr. Hamilton is still checking on my mom every other day so she should have company." She told him.

He nodded a little, watching her for a moment. "The weekend it is then."

She looked at him back then leaned closer and kissed his cheek, "thanks for inviting me to come with you."

Oliver smiled at that. "Thanks for agreeing to come with me."

"Well, I get to be away from Metropolis, I get to go to a place that has beaches and I get to be with you, I'd be crazy to say no." She told him, teasing.

He chuckled. "I see what comes in last," he teased back.

"The most important part," she said, grinning and raising her eyebrow.

"That's better," he said with a grin.

She stepped closer and looked down at the pan, "they smell great."

"See? Not so hard to make pancakes," he told her with a smile.

"You do realize I'm not doing the actual cooking, right?" She told him, cocking her head.

Oliver flashed her a grin. "If you were, we'd have had to call the fire department by now."

"I'd argue and be offended," she told him, moving to the fridge, "but you're right."

"Plus you think I'm adorable." His grin brightened.

She cocked her head and turned around to look at him, raising her eyebrows with a mock puzzled expression on her face, "I do?"

"Of course you do." He didn't let her mocking detour him. "Because I am."

"Your self-confidence is admirable," she teased, pulling out the milk and orange juice and setting them on the table.

"You're not the first person to tell me that," he teased back, placing their breakfast on plates and moving to the table, as well.

"Since you made me pancakes, I guess I can agree that you're adorable," she told him, pouring their drinks on their glasses.

Oliver grinned. "Like I said. You think I'm adorable."

"I do," she agreed, smiling as she picked up her fork.

He watched her for a moment, sitting down across from her at the table and smiling softly. "Yeah, well. I think you're amazing."

She grinned softly then picked up her fork and took a bite of her pancakes, raising her eyebrows, "this is amazing, Oll--" she was interrupted when she heard the footsteps coming from the apartment below, "less than ten minutes."

"I was close," he said with a shrug.

"I smell food," Lois said as she stepped into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up. "Oh my God, chocolate chip pancakes."

"Close-ish," she told Ollie, smirking at him before glancing over her shoulder to her cousin, "made from scratch too."

"Hell yes." She moved over and dropped into the seat beside her cousin.

Grinning a little, Chloe shook her head, "yes, Lois, you can have some," she teased.

Lois grinned back at her cousin and glanced at Oliver. "Might want to get started on some more. AC will be up shortly, too," she informed him.

"Oh, so he _is_ here," Chloe said, shifting and folding a leg under her, "we were hoping he'd be distracting you so you would ignore the smell of pancakes."

She smirked at Chloe. "You should know better."

Oliver shook his head a little, taking a bite of his pancake, then pushing the plate toward Lois before rising to his feet. "Right."

Chloe looked up at Oliver apologetically, "we'll just lock the door next time," she told him.

He smirked at her. "She has a key," he pointed out.

Mock groaning, Chloe shook her head, "good thing we'll spend some time away." She said casually, smirking as she took a bite of her syrup soaked pancake.

At that, Lois arched an eyebrow. "Meaning what, exactly?" she asked, looking at Chloe and then over at Oliver.

"Ollie has to go to Star City for business," she told her cousin, "and I get to come with him and just relax at the beach while he works." Or so she assumed that was what was going to happen, she would have to see how she would feel being in a strange place by herself.

She raised her other eyebrow. "And meanwhile I'm stuck here working," she grumbled, eating a bite of pancake.

"At least you won't be here by yourself?" She teased, raising her eyebrows.

She smirked at that. "True," she said with a slight nod. "I have Aunt Moira and AC to keep me company."

Chloe's face softened as Lois mentioned her mom and she nodded, "yeah, so you'll be okay, except you won't have anyone to steal breakfast from."

"Guess Ollie will have to make some meals up ahead of time," she said brightly, winking at Chloe.

Shaking her head a little, Chloe smiled at her cousin, "you're awful," she told her, glancing at Ollie.

He glanced back at Chloe with an amused smile of his own and shook his head as well.

"Well, do you want me to starve? Or burn the place down? I mean, Ollie's a hero. It's his _duty_ to make sure everyone stays alive and safe."

"Yeah? Guess what? Your boyfriend is _also_ a hero, he is responsible for you," she teased, "Ollie has enough in his hands making sure _I_ don't set the kitchen on fire."

Oliver's smile slipped just a little at Lois' words, and he was glad his back was to them both. It was a duty he'd failed at. Badly.

"AC can't cook any better than I can," Lois informed her. "So therefore by default it goes back to Ollie."

"Well, then maybe I will just order you food online every night and have someone deliver it here," Chloe suggested, not noticing the change in Ollie.

"I wouldn't mind making up a few things ahead of time," Oliver spoke up.

Lois raised her eyebrows with surprise, glancing over at him and then back at Chloe. "I guess I won't starve after all," she said lightly.

Chloe sighed and shook her head, "Lois..." she turned to Ollie, "you don't have to, she'll be fine, Ollie."

He smiled a bit, glancing at her over his shoulder. "It's no big deal, really."

"She'll start calling you in the middle of a meeting, demanding food if you let her get used to this," truth was, Chloe didn't want Oliver to feel like he had to do even more than he already had for both her and her family, even if he said he didn't mind, she knew things had been hard on him, dealing with her and her issues especially.

Lois grinned at the accusation. "Hey, it's not my fault he's a good cook, Cuz." She leaned back in her chair and glanced over at Oliver, pausing for a moment and frowning just a little. "But really, I am just kidding. Mostly." She kept her voice light even though she felt a tinge of worry.

Chloe glanced at Ollie then looked at Lois, giving her a look and shaking her head a little.

Oliver shrugged a little. "We'll order you plenty of food while we're gone," he told her, flipping the pancakes.

Pursing her lips together, Chloe looked over at Oliver for a moment then turned back to her food, taking another bite silently.

Lois looked between them, her frown deepening. "Pancakes are good," she said.

"It actually smells and sounds like someone is cooking here," AC said as he stepped into the apartment from the stairs, "whose birthday am I missing?"

Oliver smirked faintly. "Lois thinks it's hers," he informed AC.

"Feels like mine," he said, winking at Lois then looking over at Oliver.

Chloe smiled a little up at AC, she liked having him around, he was always laid back and in a good mood, which was perfect for Lois in her opinion.

Lois grinned back at him. "You should come over and eat then."

"Got enough for me too, bossman, or are you only feeding the ladies?" AC said as he took the chair across from Lois'.

"I was ordered to make more especially for you," Oliver informed him with a hint of amusement, glancing over at them. "And we can stick with Ollie."

Chloe took a deep breath and forced herself to take another bite of her pancakes, she knew Oliver well enough by now to be able to tell when he wasn't one hundred percent and the slight hunch on his shoulders was enough information for her. She wasn't sure what they had said that had made him uncomfortable, but now she just wanted to walk back to the bedroom and try to figure out. But she knew she couldn't just run from social situations, even if it was just Lois and AC, so she was trying her best to pull herself together and sit through breakfast. It just had become harder to control her emotions with time, probably because she had controlled them too much in the past.

"Right, now that we're practically in the same family anyway," AC teased, oblivious to everything else, except for the smell of food.

Oliver moved back to the table and set pancakes on a plate for AC before sitting down across from Chloe once more. "You want anything else?" he asked, glancing at her.

"I'm okay," she told him, glancing up at him then back down at her plate, "not sure I'll even be able to finish this one."

"They're rich," Lois commented, glancing at her cousin. "Like Ollie." She grinned.

He shook his head in amusement.

Chloe smiled a little and shook her head too, "he did warn me to stop pouring in the chocolate chips," she told Lois then sipped on her juice.

"She wanted to add more," Oliver said, his voice teasing.

She raised her head to look at him, studying him in silence for a second, "well, I didn't know that the whole 'no such thing as too much chocolate' didn't apply to pancakes."

A smile quirked his lips as he met her gaze. "Am I going to have to stage a chocolate intervention for you?"

Chloe shook her head a little and smiled back at him, unable not to, "I think I've learned my lesson."

That earned her an actual, real smile. "Oh good."

Lois relaxed a little in her chair as some of the tension in the room eased at their light-hearted banter. She glanced sideways at AC, who'd already polished off his pancakes. "What do you say we hit the lake today?"

"You know I can't say no to _that_ ," AC told Lois, pushing his plate away and stealing her glass for a sip.

She smirked. "There's a lot of things I've found you can't say no to," she teased.

Oliver grimaced a little. "Oversharing, Lois."

"Seriously, Lo," Chloe told her cousin, turning to look back at her pancake and taking a small bite of it as she glanced at Oliver, part of her couldn't help but wonder how much he missed having a sex life, but most of her just couldn't think about it at all.

Lois grinned at her and shrugged, not looking the least bit sorry. "All right, I think we're done here. You guys wanna come with us to the lake?" she asked, rising to her feet.

Oliver glanced at Chloe across the table, raising his eyebrows.

Chloe looked over at her cousin and shook her head, thinking fast, "I probably should start packing for Star City." She told her, then glanced at Oliver, "you can go if you want to."

He frowned a little at how quickly she answered the question. "No, I actually need to get packed, too."

AC finished Lois' juice then stood up, "let's go then, before the sun gets too hot for you," he winked at Lois, then turned to Ollie, "thanks for breakfast."

He nodded a little, distracted by the sudden, familiar concern toward Chloe. "No problem. Have fun."

Lois hesitated a moment, looking at AC and then at her cousin. "You want me to hang around and help you pack? We can hit the lake later."

Chloe shook her head and tried for a smile even though she knew she couldn't fool either Lois or Ollie, "no, go ahead, have fun." She told her trying hard to sound sincere not to worry Lois more than she already had.

"Okay," she murmured, glancing at Oliver, who met her eyes for a brief moment, then leaning down and kissing Chloe's temple. "We'll be back in a few hours." She and AC headed out the door.

"Bye," Chloe called after them then, let out a breath and sank back against her chair.

"You all right?" Oliver asked quietly, watching her.

"Yeah," she nodded a little, glancing over at him then picking up her plate and glass as she stood up and taking it over to the sink.

He looked down at the table for a moment, then rose to his feet, as well, gathering AC and Lois' plates and carrying them to the sink, too. "Penny for your thoughts," he murmured.

Chloe placed the dishes in the sink and sighed deeply, keeping her back to him and remaining quiet until she sniffled as silently as possible.

"Please don't shut me out," he whispered.

Her shoulders dropped from their tense position and she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry," she whispered quietly, still not turning.

His eyebrows furrowed at that and he slowly moved so he was standing beside her rather than behind her. "For what?" he asked, shaking his head a little.

"For trying to," she said quietly, taking a deep breath and finally turning to face him, her eyes red from the tears she was trying to fight back.

He met her gaze, his chest tightening a little. "It's okay, Chloe."

Pursing her lips together, she shook her head, "it's not."

Oliver hesitantly reached out and touched her cheek. "This isn't easy for you."

"It doesn't make it right," she sniffled again, her vision blurring more, "you deserve better," she said, her voice cracking.

"Chloe." His voice was hushed and he stepped closer to her. "Don't do this to yourself."

"I don't _want_ to," she told him, looking down, "I'm tired of this, I'm tired of feeling like this."

He kissed her forehead softly. "You have to give yourself time."

Chloe pulled her head back and away from his mouth, "it's not fair." She whispered, a hint of anger in her voice.

Oliver blew out a breath and looked down at the floor for a moment. "No. It's not," he agreed quietly.

"And it's not fair to _you_ ," she said, still not looking at him, her voice raising a little.

"What are you talking about?" he asked uncertainly.

Chloe leaned back against the sink and shook her head, "I dragged you into this... _mess_ that is my life," she told him, shaking her head and looking up at him as the tears finally started running down her cheek, "and even after you cleaned it up, I'm still asking for more and you're locked up inside this apartment with me all the time and you can't even leave town for a few days without feeling like you have to take me with you, you can't have anything that resembles a normal life anymore, you can't even have a normal _relationship_ with me." She took a deep, shaky breath, "it's not fair to you."

Oliver's chest suddenly felt tight as he listened to her words. "Chloe." His voice was quiet once more and he shook his head a little. "Listen to me. You didn't _drag_ me into anything. And you haven't asked me for anything. And I asked you to come with me to Star City because I _want_ you to come with me. I want to show you my city, and where I grew up. And let's face it...we were never going to have a normal relationship. Not with the lives we lead. Normal's overrated."

She sighed deeply and shook her head again, rubbing her hands against her face, "that's not what I meant," she said tiredly as she dropped her hands to her side, "what if I never get better?" She asked him, glancing up at him then looking down again as she wrapped her arms around herself, "what if I'm never comfortable with having sex again?" She swallowed at the words, her voice coming out a little chocked.

He knew it wasn't what she meant, but he'd meant the words nonetheless. He gazed at her for a long moment. "I don't see you as broken," he whispered, wanting to reach out and take her hand. "You were hurt, but he didn't break you. You've already come a long way."

Chloe sobbed quietly and shook her head, tightening her arms around herself, "I can't even make it through breakfast," she told him in a quiet whisper.

His stomach knotted and he shook his head. "But you _did_. You did make it, Chloe. And it's okay to cry," he whispered back.

"But I don't _want_ to cry," she told him, finally looking up at him again, "I just want to go back to normal and go out and go to the lake and talk like a normal person _without_ making everyone uncomfortable, _without_ everyone worrying about me." She sobbed.

He winced a little at that, knowing he was one of the people she was talking about who was doing the worrying. "How can I help you make that happen?" he asked, shaking his head. "What can I do to help you get back to where you feel safe enough to go do things like that?"

"I don't know," she whispered, looking at him with big eyes as her voice cracked, she shook her head, "I don't want to go anywhere because I don't want to freak out in front of anyone and make things worse."

Oliver gazed at her for a moment, falling silent. "Chloe, have you given any more thought to going to that domestic violence center?" His voice was very quiet, almost inaudible.

Her jaw tightened, "I'm _not_ going, Oliver." She told him, embracing the small amount of anger she felt full force, it was better than self-pity. She dropped her arms to her sides and pushed herself from against the counter then started toward the bedroom.

He stared after her for a few seconds. "Why not?" he asked, following her.

She stopped, taking a deep breath, her hands curling into fists, keeping her back to him "because I'm done playing the victim."

"I _never_ said you should. But admitting that you need help dealing with this isn't being a victim, Chloe."

" _Stop_ pushing it," she said angrily, turning to face him again, her entire body tense, "you don't wanna put up with me, you can _go_ ," she said loudly, pointing a shaky finger toward the door as her stomach clenched and her eyes watered again, "stop trying to tell me what to do!"

Oliver's eyes widened a little at the accusation. "All I'm trying to do is _help_ you! I never said I was leaving or trying to tell you what to do!"

"I'm already talking to J'onn!" She told him, her jaw tight, "I'm not stupid, Oliver, I know _you_ set it up, and I'm talking to him anyway, I'm not about to go through everything _again_ , I'm _not_ telling anyone else!"

His jaw tightened at that. "Actually, I didn't. J'onn happens to care about you, Chloe. And that's not something you can lay on _me_."

She just stared at him, "I've done enough of that." She told him finally, before turning around again and continuing toward the bedroom.

Oliver rubbed his hands over his face, leaning back against the wall for a long moment before following her again. "Look, I'm sorry." His voice was quiet again. "I'm not trying to push you. I swear I'm not. I'm just trying to help."

Chloe had sat down on the edge of the bed, her arms tight around herself again. She wanted to ask him to leave, but she couldn't bring herself to because she didn't know if she could deal with it if he didn't come back, "why are you still here?" She asked after staring up at him for a long time, her anger dissipating as he stomach and chest got tighter and tighter.

He stared back at her for a long moment. "Because I love you, Chloe," he said almost inaudibly. "Because this is where I _want_ to be."

She swallowed hard and shook her head a little, "and if you get tired of this?"

Oliver gazed at her and shook his head, as well. "You're stuck with me until you get tired of me."

Letting out a deep breath, she shifted on the bed and pulled her knees up, hugging them against her chest and resting her forehead on top of them, "I'm sorry," she said quietly, a mix of embarrassment and guilt, both for yelling at him and for him having to deal with her.

"You don't have to keep apologizing to me, Chloe." He sighed softly and hesitantly stepped inside the room, moving to sit down beside her.

Sighing, she shook her head, "not a lot of people would willingly want to deal with this, Oliver."

"Not a lot of people know you," he answered quietly.

She glanced over at him, "I am grateful for everything you have done and are still doing for me," she told him, "but I do want you to know that if you ever want out, I won't blame you."

Oliver's chest tightened at that. "I'm not going anywhere, Chloe. I meant it when I said you are worth the wait. I haven't changed my mind."

Sniffing a little, she looked at him for a moment longer then nodded before resting her forehead against her knees again. She had no reason not to believe him, Oliver had done nothing but to keep his word so far and she believed him when he told her he loved her, but she had meant what she said; It wasn't fair to him, none of it was.

He watched her for a moment, then slowly laid back down on the bed, closing his eyes.

She felt him moving next to her but didn't lift her head, she felt safe with him and not even him moving on the bed next to her made her uncomfortable and she knew that aside from him and her cousin, she probably wouldn't feel this comfortable with someone in a long time, if ever again.

Chloe sighed deeply at the thought, the part of her who wanted him to be happy wished he would have taken her on her offer and taken off, but the selfish part was grateful that he hadn't and while she had him, she should show him just how thankful she was that he was staying with her through this. So she slowly lifted her head and uncurled from her position before laying back down next to him and hesitating for a second before reaching out and taking his hand tightly in hers.

Oliver opened his eyes and turned his head to look at her silently. And without hesitation he squeezed her hand in return.


	15. Better Late Than...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)

Title: Better Late Than...  
Authors: [](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/profile)[**chloeas**](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/) and [](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/profile)[**dl_greenarrow**](http://dl-greenarrow.livejournal.com/)  
Rating: R  
Note: This is the sequel to [A Fine Line.](http://chloeas.livejournal.com/103105.html)  
Disclaimer: They're not ours.

Chloe looked out the window, shifting on her seat nervously, "it should be that one, with the silver car," she told Oliver, pointing at the house they were headed for and at the car she recognized at the man who had been her personal body guard in the past few months, even before he had been officially hired for the job.

With a deep breath, she sat up and glanced at her boyfriend and pursed her lips together. A couple weeks ago, Joseph had started calling in sick for work a lot, he started asking for time off and started coming early and leaving late. Chloe couldn't help but both worry about him and worry that maybe, they shouldn't trust him as much as they should have, so she started looking into his background and trying to figure out what was going on.

What she found was that he was in a lot of debt, he had astronomical hospital bills, more credit cards than she could count and apparently, a very sick little girl at home. While she'd known for a while that Joseph had a family, in the three months that she had been actually seeing him every day and having conversations here and there, he had never talked much about them, so she didn't ask much either, but when she saw the four year old's medical files, her heart sank.

In her very short life, she had already been through three cancer treatments and apparently, had just been diagnosed with stomach cancer. Chloe asked Dr. Hamilton to look at the files and according to him, it didn't look good at all. The second she'd seen the bills, she hadn't even blinked before making the decision to pay all of them off, but that wasn't going to be enough because money wasn't going to keep Joseph's daughter alive. But maybe _she_ could.

"Do you think it will work?" She asked Oliver quietly, glancing at him.

Oliver drew in a breath and looked over at her, his stomach tight with nerves. "I don't know," he said just as quietly. She had never tried to heal a _sick_ person with her powers before. They didn't know how it worked at all, except that it drained her of her energy very quickly. "But you're not trying this alone."

She nodded and took a deep breath, rubbing her sweaty hands over her jeans, "and you're sure you want to be there? If it's as bad ad Dr. Hamilton thinks it if and if I _can_ heal her, I probably won't wake up for days."

He'd already considered that. Had done his best to prepare himself for that mentally, if there was a way you could really prepare to see the woman you loved literally die in your arms for the second time. "I know."

With a deep breath, she nodded and glanced at the house then back at Oliver, "should we go in?"

Oliver nodded slightly, reaching out and opening the car door, stepping out and exhaling slowly.

She got out too and stepped over to the sidewalk, keeping her eyes on the house before looking over at Oliver.

He glanced back at her, then hesitantly took her hand in his, sliding his fingers through hers.

Squeezing his hand, she lifted her free hand to cup his cheek and searched his eyes, "thank you for being here with me," she said quietly, she was really nervous and if she was honest, she wasn't sure she could do this without him.

"Wouldn't be anywhere else," Oliver said quietly, gazing at her.

She leaned in and kissed him deeply before pulling back, "I love you." She told him quietly. She could only imagine how hard this would be on him if it worked.

He leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, shutting his eyes. "I love you too," he whispered.

"If it works," she said quietly, brushing her fingertips over his cheek, "you don't have to stay there with me while I heal, I don't want you seeing me like that and worrying yourself unnecessarily."

Oliver turned his head and kissed her fingertips lightly. "I'll be all right. Don't worry about me."

"I will be okay too," she told him, "just remember that."

He nodded a little, just wanting to get this over with. He took her hand in his once more and glanced at the front door of Joseph's house.

With a deep breath, she held on to his hand tightly and glanced up at him before knocking on the door gently.

A couple moments later, Joseph showed up at the door, a flicker of confusion passing over his face, and then worry. "Chloe. Oliver. Is there something I can do for you?"

Chloe glanced at Oliver then looked back at Joseph, "no," she told him, "but maybe there is something we can do for you."

At that, his eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Oliver drew in a breath. "May we come in?"

When Joseph stepped aside, Chloe squeezed Oliver's hand and walked inside the house, it was a very modest house, not much different from the one Chloe and her dad had lived in in Smallville, she looked around for a moment then focused on Joseph, "we know about Jasmine," she explained quietly.

The older man was silent for a moment, and then he looked away. "There's really nothing that can be done at this point," he said, his voice dropping. "Except to keep her comfortable."

Chloe's stomach tightened, "maybe there is," she said quietly.

He shook his head a little. "What do you mean?"

"You remember how," she paused and squeezed Oliver's hand at the memory, "how whenever I got hurt, I healed quickly?"

Oliver's hand tightened around hers involuntarily, his jaw tensing a little.

Joseph studied her, still looking uncertain. "Yes."

"That's because I have a met--" she paused, choosing to reword her sentence, "I have a mutant power, I can heal myself and others, within a very short period of time."

Oliver could see the moment realization dawned in Joseph's mind, watched the flicker of uncertainy be replaced by a flicker of hope.

"Are you telling me you're here to heal my daughter?" His voice was hushed.

"To _try_ ," Chloe clarified, her chest tightening at the change in the man's face, "I've only healed wounds before, I don't know if I can heal someone who is ill, but I want to try."

Joseph stared at her for a long moment. "All right," he whispered, nodding.

"Can we see her?" She asked him quietly, cocking her head.

"Of course," he said just as quietly, turning and leading them down the hallway to a small bedroom on the left.

Chloe glanced at Oliver as they followed Joseph around the house, her stomach immediately dropping as her eyes fell on the small, thin, fragile looking little girl.

"Daddy?" Jasmine said uncertainly, looking up at the strangers.

Oliver held his breath as he gazed down at her, then he offered her a small, soft smile. "Hi, Jasmine. My name's Oliver. And this is Chloe," he said softly.

Chloe tried her best to smile at her too, when she was looking into Joseph's background, she had also found out that his wife had passed away due to complications during child birth and as far as she could tell, Jasmine was the only close family he had, "hi Jasmine," she said quietly.

She looked at the two of them uncertainly. "Daddy?" she said again.

"It's okay, Jaz," he whispered, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "They're good friends of mine."

The little girl shifted on the bed a little and looked between Chloe and Oliver then looked down shyly.

Chloe took a deep breath and took a step closer to the bed, "you look a lot like your dad," she told the little girl quietly.

Oliver's hand tightened around Chloe's just a little. "How are you feeling, Jasmine?" he asked very softly.

At that, Jasmine looked at her dad suspiciously, "you promised no more doctor." She said quietly, but frowned.

"They're not doctors," he promised, shaking his head.

"We _are_ here to try to make you feel better, though," Chloe told her quietly. "It's not going to hurt."

"They always say that," she whispered, looking down.

Oliver's chest tightened at that. "This time it's true," he said softly, glancing at Chloe.

Chloe took a deep breath and nodded a little, "it will just get really bright," she told Jasmine quietly, "and it will get very warm, but it won't hurt."

Joseph glanced at her, and then at his daughter, then back again. "What should I do?"

"Nothing," Chloe told him, then glanced at Oliver, "but the two of you can't touch me, no matter what."

Drawing in a breath, Oliver let go of her hand reluctantly.

She took a deep breath and stepped forward, smiling a little at Jasmine, "you can hold your dad's hand if you want to." She told her quietly.

Jasmine glanced at her and then over at her dad, reaching out and taking his hand and squeezing it tightly. "Now what?"

"Now you relax," she told her, smiling a little more and taking a deep breath before lifting both hands over the little girl's stomach, her chest tightening when nothing happened, narrowing her eyes a little, Chloe moved her hands closer to the girl's body and all of the sudden, her palms started to feel warm and a faint yellow glow appeared under them.

"It's working," she whispered, concentrating.

Oliver's muscles tensed at the sight of the glow and he stepped closer to her, his heart beating quickly in his chest. He reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Regardless of the fact that she'd be angry with him, he didn't care. He'd meant it when he'd said she wasn't doing this alone.

"Oliver!" She called, her eyes widening and she tried to pull her hands away from the little girl, but they wouldn't move away, "Oliver, stop!"

Joseph's eyes widened a little as he saw Oliver's hand on her shoulder beginning to glow, as well. He looked between them and down at his daughter, holding his breath.

"Joseph," Chloe called, her head already spinning, her eyes starting to feel heavy as her shoulders hunched forward, her palms glowing as bright as ever, "pull him away," she managed, "please."

"Don't," Oliver ground out, pinning the man with a look even as a wave of exhaustion swept over him.

"Please," Chloe asked Joseph again, her knees buckling as she tried hard to remain standing, her body was so hot, hotter than she ever remembered it being before.

Joseph hesitantly rose to his feet, but Jasmine's hand tightened around his. "What's happening?" he asked worriedly.

"Helping her," Oliver murmured.

Chloe tried pulling her shoulder away from Oliver's hand but she had no strength left, the glow began to fate as did the heat and her eyes fell closed, she couldn't stand for much longer.

Oliver wound his arm around Chloe's waist as the glow finally died out completely. He shut his eyes for a moment, then directed her to the armchair a few feet away, sinking to the floor as soon as she was safely seated.

"Oliver," Chloe called, lowering her hand to her side, searching blindly for his.

Jasmine sat up, her eyes wide as she looked from her dad to the two people.

"I'm okay," he murmured, closing his eyes as his head lolled to the side and rested against her knee.

"Jaz? How are you feeling?" Joseph asked anxiously, looking from Chloe and Oliver to his daughter.

The little girl sat up and looked up at her dad, "I don't feel yucky anymore," she told him quietly, her eyes still wide.

Chloe lowered her hands to Oliver's head, slumping forward, trying to use whatever energy she had left to heal him, but Jasmine's and Joseph's voices were fading until she couldn't hear anything anymore.

He swallowed hard, looking over to Oliver and Chloe, who were now both passed out in the corner. He reached down and picked Jasmine up, hugging her tightly. "Everything's going to be okay."

* * *

Chloe shifted as she started to wake up, she could feel Oliver's familiar body next to her, but the bed wasn't familiar, her back was stiff ans she groaned quietly as she opened her eyes slowly.

His breathing was slow and deep, his skin paler than usual as he remained unconscious beside her.

Her eyes widened as she remembered what had happened, an instant later, she was sitting up, turning toward him, "Oliver," she whispered, he looked sick, pale, weak, "Oliver, please wake up," she said, her voice was just above a desperate whisper as she placed her hands on his shoulders to try and shake him awake and her palms immediately started to get hot.

He opened his eyes when she started to shake him and he grimaced a little as his entire body felt sore. He quickly reached up and caught her wrists in his hands. "No."

"You're not stopping me," she said tightly, pressing her hands down against his shoulders as much as she could, the glow turning brighter.

"Stop it," he ordered, shifting away from her, out of reach.

Her jaw tightened and she turned on her knees, crawling closer again, " _no_ ," she said tightly, "for all I know, you're the one sick now, Oliver, because you touched me when I _told_ you not to and now I'm healing you whether you like it or not."

Oliver summoned every ounce of strength he had and rolled out of the bed, grimacing a little, but finding enough energy to stand. He turned to look at her. "I'll go see Emil."

"No," she grabbed his arm and pulled him back down to the bed, holding on to his hand tightly as her own got hot once more, "this is the _one_ thing I have control over, Oliver. I'm not letting you stay sick because you're being a stubborn idiot."

"I'll be _fine_ ," he ground out, glaring at her. "I wanted to help you and I did."

"I didn't _need_ your help with this," she told him, her jaw as tight as her grip on his hand, "you could have _died_ Oliver!" Her heart stopped at the realization, her eyes widened even more.

"But I didn't. And neither did _you_." At least not this time, he thought.

"If I had, I would have come back," she said firmly, her hand glowing brightly now, "unlike _you_!"

"You don't know for sure you would have either," he argued, grasping her wrist in his hand and keeping her from touching him.

"I have before," She said tightly, lifting her other hand to his cheek, "stop being stubborn, Oliver," she said angrily, "there is no reason for you to be hurt."

"And we don't know how your powers work, Chloe!" He turned his head away from her, gritting his teeth. "What if one more time is one time too many? What if you _don't_ come back?"

"What if I do? What if I come back and you're _gone_ , Oliver!?" Her eyes teared up with angry tears, "I can't do this without you!"

"I'm already back, Chloe. Just _stop_."

She stared at him for a moment then stubbornly leaned in closer and kissed him hard.

_That_ caught him off guard, his eyes drifting shut as he returned the kiss without hesitation.

Chloe relaxed a little when he returned the kiss and lifted both hands to cup his cheek, kissing him deeply but slowly as she leaned forward, still kneeling on the bed.

A shudder passed through him at the intensity of the kiss, but as the pain from his muscles and bones began to fade away, it dawned on him what she was doing. He gripped her upper arms with his hands and gently pushed her away. "Goddammit, Chloe."

She took a deep breath as he broke the kiss and stared at him, her jaw tight, "don't you _ever_ do that again." She said angrily before pulling away from him and getting off of the bed.

Oliver stared back at her, his eyes filled with anger. "Then don't you either," he said harshly.

"Why is this so damn hard for you to understand?" She asked, her voice shaking, "this it the _one_ good thing about that entire nightmare, Oliver! The _one_ thing I feel I have control over that only _I_ can do and I don't _need_ anyone to help me with, why can't you let me have this without trying to get yourself killed!?"

He flinched. "Because I'm afraid you're going to get _yourself_ killed, Chloe!"

"I have survived a lot worse." She said tightly, holding his gaze.

He stared at her. "So you think your life just doesn't matter?"

Her jaw tightened even more, "a lot less if I can't even heal people without getting _you_ killed."

Oliver shook his head. "And here I thought by now you knew I do what I want."

"Oh, I know that," she said, her eyes narrowing, "but I can't risk you doing _this_ ," she took a step closer, "because I _need_ you, Oliver."

"And I _need_ you, Chloe. And we both know if our situations were reversed, you'd have done the same thing."

"Then what, Oliver? I should just stop helping people otherwise you're going to willingly put yourself in danger?"

He blew out a frustrated breath. "That's not what I said."

"So what are you saying?" She demanded, folding her arms over her chest.

"I don't know! Maybe I'm just saying we need to be careful!"

"I _was_ careful, Oliver! I had _you_ to take care of me when I passed out, but you never talked to me about what you were _planning_!" She said loudly, "you're the one who just acted on impulse without a back-up plan!"

He rubbed a hand over his face, looking away from her and shutting his eyes.

Her eyes narrowed and she dropped her arms to her sides before taking a deep breath, "I'm gonna go check on Joseph and Jasmine," she told him before turning around and heading toward the door of the small room.

Oliver swallowed hard as she put distance between them and he exhaled slowly, sitting down on the side of the bed.

Chloe left the room without glancing back and her breath caught as she heard laughter coming from somewhere inside the house, she knew the healing had worked, but she had seen that little girl looking so fragile, it was surprising to hear her laughing like that.

"What do you think about Disneyworld?" Joseph asked, his voice drifting down the hall.

Jasmine's eyes widened and she looked at her dad, " _really_?"

Holding her breath, Chloe stepped into the small living room, watching the two of them.

"Really," he said, nodding and smiling down at her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead, glancing up and catching sight of Chloe. "Thank you," he mouthed.

Letting her breath out slowly, Chloe nodded and smiled softly at him but didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt as Jasmine threw her arms around her dad's neck and told him he was the best dad ever. She was still mad at Oliver for doing what he had done, but clearly, it had all been worth it.

And yes...there's another one in the works in this universe. :)


End file.
